Jean Simmons (1929-2010)

A tribute published today so appropriately described her as an ethereal movie star. Jean Simmons. I will always remember her for her performance as Varinia in "Spartacus", one of the first epic films I ever saw; she was so stunning in it.

Tributes from the classic movie blog community:

Classic Movies
The Classic Film Show
A Shroud of Thoughts
Hollywood Dreamland
Dreaming in Black and White
Pixie Drive-In
Out of the Past
Noir And Chick Flicks
Another Old Movie Blog
Classic Forever
The Big Parade
Self-Styled Siren
The Kind of Face You Hate
Life Seems But A Quick Succession of Busy Nothings
If Charlie Parker Was a Gunslinger
Thrilling Days of Yesteryear
Laura's Miscellaneous Musings
Yesterdays Faraways
The Inner Toob

Actress Jean Simmons, 80; starred in 'Guys and Dolls,' 'Spartacus,' 'Hamlet'

By Bob Thomas, Associated Press

Jean Simmons, the stunning beauty who sang with Marlon Brando in "Guys and Dolls" and played Ophelia to Laurence Olivier's Hamlet, has died. She was 80.

Her agent, Judy Page, tells the Los Angeles Times that Simmons died Friday night at her home in Santa Monica. Simmons had lung cancer.

Simmons made her movie debut at age 14 in the 1944 British film "Give Us the Moon."

She would go on to star opposite Kirk Douglas in "Spartacus" and Burt Lancaster in "Elmer Gantry." She was best recognized for playing opposite Marlon Brando in "Guys and Dolls."

Simmons won an Emmy for the 1983 TV miniseries "The Thorn Birds" and appeared on TV and on stage until the 1990s.