 To the public at the time , Leigh was strongly identified with her second husband Laurence Olivier , to whom she was married from 1940 to 1960 . Leigh and Olivier starred together in many stage productions , with Olivier often directing , and in three films . She earned a reputation for being difficult to work with , as for much of her adult life she suffered from bipolar disorder as well as recurrent bouts of chronic tuberculosis , first diagnosed in the mid @-@ 1940s , which ultimately claimed her life at the age of 53 . Although her career had periods of inactivity , in 1999 , the American Film Institute ranked Leigh as the 16th greatest female movie star of classic Hollywood cinema . 
