The 31st Academy Awards

The 31st Academy Awards, held on April 6, 1959, marked the first time Elizabeth attended the Oscars as a nominee. (The previous year’s ceremony, in which she was nominated for her performance in Raintree County, was held a mere four days after the tragic death of Mike Todd.) She was nominated for the second time as Best Actress for her sizzling portrayal of Maggie the Cat in the big screen adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), although the award ultimately went to Susan Hayward for I Want to Live!

Elizabeth also presented the Writing category awards alongside Dirk Bogarde and Van Heflin. Alan Jay Lerner won the Oscar for Writing (Screenplay—based on material from another medium) for Gigi, and Nedrick Young and Harold Jacob Smith took home the award for Writing (Story and Screenplay—written directly for the screen) for The Defiant Ones.