Person Biography:
Ada Brand Thomson, later known as Vivien Merchant, was a renowned English actress born in Manchester, Lancashire in 1929. She began her acting career in 1942 as a teenager and went on to appear regularly on repertory theatre in the 1940s, gradually progressing to leading roles by the early 1950s.
Merchant's personal life was marked by a romantic relationship with fellow actor Harold Pinter, whom she married in 1956. The couple had a son, Daniel Pinter, in 1958. As Pinter's career as a playwright flourished, Merchant was frequently cast in productions of his plays.
Her film debut came in the 1966 comedy-drama "Alfie," for which she received a BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She appeared in a few subsequent films, including the thriller "Frenzy" (1972) and the drama "The Maids" (1975).
Despite her successful career, Merchant's marriage to Pinter was tumultuous. Pinter had extramarital affairs, including a long-term relationship with writer and journalist Joan Bakewell from 1962 to 1969, and a new affair with historian and novelist Antonia Fraser in 1975. Merchant discovered Pinter's infidelity and began verbally attacking Fraser in private and public. The couple eventually divorced in 1977, with Pinter marrying Fraser in 1980.
Merchant's divorce and the subsequent decline of her health due to alcoholism led to her death in 1982 at the age of 53.
