The Mayer family initially lived in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and then moved to Hollywood in 1918. It was there that her father established Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, one of the more successful film studios of its time.[4] She attended Hollywood School for Girls, a private school in Los Angeles.[6] She and her sister Edith both studied singing with Estelle Liebling, the voice teacher of Beverly Sills.[7]
Marriage and career
Irene Mayer Selznick (second from right) with U.S. Assistant Attorney GeneralMabel Walker Willebrandt (right), her mother Margaret Shenberg Mayer (center), father Louis B. Mayer (second from left), and older sister Edith Mayer (left) at the White House on February 3, 1927
Irene married producer David O. Selznick in 1930. Her husband came from an extremely dysfunctional but talented family, and he was one of the few men who stimulated her intellect. During the marriage, she acted as a hostess to the couple's Hollywood parties. The couple frequently socialized with Hollywood stars, including Ingrid Bergman, Janet Gaynor, and Katharine Hepburn.[8] Selznick was also an executive at her husband's production company.[4] Irene Selznick also did volunteer and charity work and worked as a probation officer for juveniles for Los Angeles County during World War II.[9]
After separating from her husband in 1945, Irene Selznick moved to New York City, where she pursued her love of the theatre.[6] In 1947, she worked with playwright Tennessee Williams and director Elia Kazan and produced her first play, A Streetcar Named Desire, which gave Marlon Brando his break-out role. The play's success brought her a great deal of respect, and she produced four more plays, among them 1955's The Chalk Garden for which she received a Tony Award nomination. She retired in 1961.[9]
Considered by her peers within the entertainment industry as one of the foremost historians of Hollywood and Broadway, Selznick published her autobiography, A Private View, in 1983.[8]
Personal life
Mayer and Selznick had two sons, Lewis Jeffrey (1932–1997) and Daniel Selznick (1936-2024),[10] both of whom became film producers.[11] Daniel married Susan Warms Dryfoos, daughter of Orvil E. Dryfoos.[12]
However, David O. Selznick's constant philandering and frequent financial problems as a result of a gambling addiction led to their growing apart, which resulted in her leaving Selznick in 1945.[6][13] Their divorce became final on January 22, 1949.[14]
She was a close friend of Katharine Hepburn for several decades, but distanced herself from her late in life.[15]
Death
Irene Mayer Selznick died on October 10, 1990, from complications from breast cancer at her apartment at The Pierre in Manhattan.[9] Her remains were returned to California, where she was interred next to her mother in the Mausoleum, Hall of Graciousness, Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.[16]
^Dean Fowler, Alandra (1994). Estelle Liebling: An exploration of her pedagogical principles as an extension and elaboration of the Marchesi method, including a survey of her music and editing for coloratura soprano and other voices (PhD). University of Arizona.
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