Gene Tierney (November 19, 1920 – November 6, 1991) was an American Film and Stage actress. Acclaimed as one of the most beautiful women of the 20th century, she is probably best-remembered for her performance in the title role of Laura (1944) and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Actress in Leave Her to Heaven (1945). She was born Gene Eliza Tierney in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Howard Sherwood Tierney and Belle Lavina Taylor. She had an older brother, Howard Sherwood "Butch" Tierney, Jr., and a younger sister, Patricia "Pat" Tierney. Her father was a prosperous insurance broker of Irish decent, her mother a former gym teacher. Gene attended St. Margaret School, Waterbury, Connecticut, and the Unquowa School in Bridgeport.