Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 - December 12, 1968) was an American actress of the stage and screen. Bankhead was known for her husky voice, outrageous personality, and devastating wit. Originating some of the 20th century theater's preeminent roles in comedy and melodrama, she gained acclaim as an actress on both sides of the Atlantic.

In 1933, Bankhead nearly died following a five-hour emergency hysterectomy due to venereal disease, which she claimed she had contracted from George Raft. Only 70 lb (32 kg) when she left the hospital, she stoically said to her doctor, "Don't think this has taught me a lesson!" In 1934, after recuperating in Alabama, she returned to England. After only a short stay, she was called back to New York to play in The Little Foxes. Although Bette Davis played the leading character in the 1941 film version, she openly admitted in later years that she had emulated Bankhead in the role. Bankhead continued to play in various performances over the next few years, gaining excellent notices for her portrayal of Elizabeth in a revival of Somerset Maugham's The Circle.  Returning to Broadway, Bankhead's career stalled at first in unmemorable plays. When she appeared in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra with her then-husband, John Emery, the New York Evening Post critic John Mason Brown wrote, "Tallulah Bankhead barged down the Nile last night as Cleopatra - and sank."  David O. Selznick, producer of Gone with the Wind (1939) called her the "first choice among established stars" to play Scarlett O'Hara. Although her screen test for the role in black-and-white was superb, she photographed poorly in Technicolor. Selznick also reportedly believed that at age 36, she was too old to play Scarlett, who is 16 at the beginning of the film (the role eventually went to Vivien Leigh). Selznick sent Kay Brown to Bankhead to discuss the possibility of Bankhead playing prostitute Belle Watling in the film, which she turned down. The search for Scarlett O'Hara was documented in "The Scarlet O'Hara Wars" episode of the miniseries Moviola, where the very similar Carrie Nye played Bankhead, being nominated for an Emmy Award.

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were there other reasons she didnt get the role?