Who was Merle Oberon? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

British Celebrities Born In February

Also Known As: Merle

Died At Age: 68

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Alexander Korda (m. 1939–1945), Bruno Pagliai (m. 1957–1973) Lucien Ballard, Robert Wolders (m. 1975–1979)

siblings: Constance Thompson

children: Bruno Pagliai Jr., Francesca Pagliai

Born Country: India

Actresses British Women

Died on: November 23, 1979

place of death: Malibu, California, United States

Recommended For You

1

What was Merle Oberon's first film?

Merle Oberon's first film was "The Private Life of Henry VIII" released in 1933.
2

What was Merle Oberon's ethnicity?

Merle Oberon was of mixed ethnicity, with her mother being Indian and her father of British descent.
3

Did Merle Oberon ever write a book?

Yes, Merle Oberon wrote an autobiography titled "Merle: A Biography of Merle Oberon" published in 1978.
4

What was one of Merle Oberon's most famous roles?

One of Merle Oberon's most famous roles was as Cathy in the film adaptation of Emily Brontë's novel "Wuthering Heights" in 1939.
5

Was Merle Oberon involved in any charity work?

Yes, Merle Oberon was involved in various charity activities, including supporting organizations that helped children in need and promoting animal welfare causes.

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Childhood & Early Life

She was born Estelle Merle O'Brien Thompson on February 19, 1911, in Bombay (presently called Mumbai) in British India.

All through her life she concealed her mixed ancestry and even concocted a story claiming her birthplace as Tasmania, Australia. However such story was debunked following her demise.

Some sources claim her parents to be Arthur Terrence O'Brien Thompson, a mechanical engineer from England who served ‘Indian Railways’ and Charlotte Selby, a Eurasian lady with partial Māori background hailing from Ceylon (at present Srilanka).

According to sources Charlotte gave birth to a daughter called Constance in Ceylon, out of her relationship with Irish foreman Henry Alfred Selby, when she was 14-year-old. When Constance was 12-year-old, she gave birth to Merle.

However, Merle was raised by Charlotte as her younger daughter and as younger sister of Constance. Merle’s birth certificate lists Arthur Thompson as her father with the first name misspelt as ‘Arther’.

Later Constance married Alexander Soares and together had four children, Stanislaus, Harry, Edna and Douglas.

Arthur Thompson began serving the ‘British army’ in 1914. He succumbed to pneumonia during the ‘Battle of the Somme’, the largest battle of ‘First World War’ on the Western Front.

After living in an impoverished condition in Bombay, Charlotte moved to Calcutta (at present Kolkata) with Merle in 1917. There Merle joined one of the prestigious schools of the city, ‘La Martiniere Calcutta’ for girls after receiving foundation scholarship. However, her parental origin haunted her here too where she was ridiculed of her unconventional heritage. Eventually she left school and studied at home.

Years later when Harry traced Merle’s birth certificate in records of the Indian government, he was shocked to find that she was actually his sister and not maternal aunt. He tried to meet her in Los Angeles but she did not agree to see him.

Harry did not reveal this fact to biographer Charles Higham who was working on her biography but later shared it with Maree Delofski, who made the 2002 documentary on Merle, ‘The Trouble with Merle’, produced by ‘Australian Broadcasting Corporation’.

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Career

Oberon was crazy about films and would frequent the nightclubs of Calcutta.

According to Sunanda K. Datta-Ray, an Indian journalist, Oberon served for a while as a telephone operator using the name Queenie Thompson.

Her first performance was with an amateur theater group ‘Calcutta Amateur Dramatic Society’.

She got acquainted with Colonel Ben Finney, a former actor, at ‘Firpo’s Restaurant’ in 1929, where she won a contest, and soon started dating him. However the relationship did not took off as Finney distanced himself from her upon knowing about her mixed ancestry.

However she relocated to France taking word of Finney to introduce her to Irish film director Rex Ingram. Her exotic look made Ingram hire her as an extra in 1929 British silent drama film ‘The Three Passions’ that marked her first step in the film industry. Thereafter she performed in several films for the next few years mostly doing trivial roles which went without any credit.

Her breakthrough came in 1933 when she landed up playing Anne Boleyn in the historical biopic ‘The Private Life of Henry VIII’ starring opposite Charles Laughton, after being spotted by the film’s director Alexander Korda. Huge success of the film got her other leading roles by the turn of the year in films like ‘The Battle’, ‘The Private Life of Don Juan’ and ‘The Scarlet Pimpernel’, all of which were released in 1934.

Her success graph in British films combined with her close association with Korda made her think of a career in Hollywood. Korda helped her take the next step forward by selling shares of her contract to Jewish Polish American film producer Samuel Goldwyn who on the other hand provided her with good opportunities in Hollywood.

She went on to do several films in Hollywood including those produced by Goldwyn like ‘Beloved Enemy’ and ‘These Three’ in 1936 and by others like ‘Folies Bergère de Paris’ (1935) and ‘The Dark Angel’ (1935) of which the latter fetched her the sole ‘Academy Award for Best Actress’ nomination of her career.

She met with a severe car accident that damaged her face while making of the 1937 film ‘I, Claudius’, which was never completed. However the incident could not deter her from her goal and she went on to do several notable films reviving her beauty and charm with the aid of good make-up and prudent lighting.

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Some such films include 'Wuthering Heights’ starring opposite Laurence Olivier in 1939; ‘Lydia’ (1941); ‘A Song to Remember’ (1945); ‘Night in Paradise’ (1946); ‘Berlin Express’ (1948); and ‘Désirée’ (1954).

Personal Life & Legacy

On June 3, 1939, she married Alexander Korda in Antibes and after Korda was knighted in 1942, she became Lady Korda.

‘Princess Merle’, her biography by Charles Higham and Roy Moseley apprised that in 1940 her complexion suffered damage due to allergic reactions. Korda made arrangements for her skin treatment in New York City where she had to undergo many dermabrasion procedures which gave partial results and without makeup the flaws of her skin would remain noticeable. On June 4, 1945, the couple divorced.

On 26th June 1945, Merle married cinematographer Lucien Ballard. A special camera light was introduced by Ballard to tactfully hide her facial flaws on film which became famous as the ‘Obie’. Their marriage lasted till February 11, 1949.

Her third marriage was with Italy-born industrialist, Bruno Pagliai from July 28, 1957 to 1973 with whom she adopted two children, Francesca Pagliai and Bruno Pagliai Jr.

Her fourth marriage with Dutch actor Robert Wolders, 25 years younger to her, lasted till her death.

On November 23, 1979, she succumbed to a stroke in Malibu, California and was buried at ‘Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery’ in Glendale, California.

Facts About Merle Oberon

Merle Oberon was born in British-controlled India to a Eurasian family, which added a unique cultural background to her life and career.

She was known for her beauty and elegance on screen, often portraying strong and independent female characters in classic Hollywood films.

Oberon was one of the first non-white actresses to achieve international stardom in Hollywood during a time when racial barriers were prevalent in the film industry.

She maintained a sense of mystery about her age and background throughout her career, adding to her allure and enigmatic persona.

In addition to her acting talents, Oberon was also a skilled businesswoman and entrepreneur, successfully managing her own production company.

Merle Oberon Biography

You wanted to know

What was Merle Oberon's first film?

What was Merle Oberon's ethnicity?

Did Merle Oberon ever write a book?

What was one of Merle Oberon's most famous roles?

Was Merle Oberon involved in any charity work?