23 Facts About Ona Munson

Ona Munson starred in nine Broadway productions and 20 feature films in her career, which spanned over 30 years.

Ona Munson starred in another four Broadway plays and musicals before the end of the 1920s.

Ona Munson resumed her film career in the late 1930s, and was cast as madam Belle Watling in David O Selznick's Gone with the Wind, a role which became her most famous.

Ona Munson married painter Eugene Berman in 1950, her second husband after a five-year marriage to director Edward Buzzell.

Ona Munson had several documented affairs with women, including Alla Nazimova and playwright Mercedes de Acosta.

Ona Munson was born Owena Elizabeth Wolcott on June 16,1903 in Portland, Oregon, the last of four children born to Owen Wolcott and Sally Wolcott.

Ona Munson was of French-Canadian heritage; her paternal grandmother immigrated from Quebec in 1865.

Ona Munson was raised in Portland, where she attended the Catlin Gabel School, and developed an affinity for English literature.

Ona Munson's parents divorced in the 1920s, and her father later remarried.

Ona Munson first appeared on Broadway in a minor role in George White's Scandals, followed by a supporting part in Twinkle, Twinkle.

In 1926, Ona Munson took over the title role of the singing and dancing ingenue Nanette in the original production of No, No, Nanette.

Ona Munson moved to Los Angeles in 1930, and appeared in the Warner Bros.

Ona Munson appeared the next year in The Hot Heiress, in which she sings several songs along with her co-star Ben Lyon.

Ona Munson starred in Broadminded and Five Star Final.

Ona Munson returned to Los Angeles in 1938 to appear a minor part in His Exciting Night, followed by an uncredited role in Dramatic School.

Ona Munson's career was stalemated by the acclaim of Gone with the Wind; for the remainder of her career, she was typecast in similar roles.

In 1940, Ona Munson had an affair with playwright Mercedes de Acosta while working for Republic Pictures in Los Angeles.

Ona Munson subsequently appeared as Chinese casino owner of dubious repute, Mother Gin Sling, in Josef von Sternberg's film The Shanghai Gesture, in which she was "unrecognizable", presumably due to the 'yellowface' make-up created for her character and others for the film.

Ona Munson married painter Eugene Berman on January 20,1950 in Beverly Hills.

Ona Munson's body was discovered by her husband Berman on the afternoon of February 11,1955.

Ona Munson was interred at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.

Ona Munson posthumously received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located on the north side of the 6200 block of Hollywood Boulevard.

Ona Munson has been listed as a member of a group termed the "sewing circle", a clique of lesbians organized by actress Alla Nazimova, who was one of Ona Munson's lovers.