Merle Oberon’s mom was actually her sister who birthed her at 12 + bleaching horrors
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- Опубліковано 16 сер 2023
- Merle Oberon’s mom was actually her sister who birthed her at 12 + Skin Bleaching
#merleoberon #bleachingcream #skinwhitening
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“I really look so different off the screen that at a recent luncheon a certain prominent Hollywood actress who sat next to me didn't recognize me and all through luncheon accepted me as a girl apparently trying to break into pictures and gave me words of advice and warning. But when someone told her my name was Merle Oberon she became embarassed and flustered and finally blurted out: 'You Merle Oberon?” - Merle Oberon… watch Marilyn Monroe - we finally know who her father was & her "tragic" childhood may have been made up..” ua-cam.com/video/374BRXebNAY/v-deo.html
Can you please do a video about Korla Pandit the very light skinned black American musician who passed as a musician from India back in the 50s?
Can you please do a video about the famous Peruvian soprano named Yma Sumac also whom Hollywood put the ‘Inca princess’ gimmick on back in the 50s?
Both Korla Pandit and Yma Sumac were a part of the very 50s music genre called ‘Exotica’ and their music was very popular during the 50s because of the popularity of the ‘Exotica’ genre
Can I play also do a video about the notorious Alain Delon?
Thank you so much
Hi Karine will you ever do a video about Carmen Miranda?
Carmen Miranda was one of Brazil’s hugest stars and icons but Carmen and her parents really came straight out of Portugal anyway 🇵🇹
Hi Karine, I love your stories, but I have an issue with implying or stating that a woman may have prostituted herself, without police reports or some kind of hard evidence. One is not supposed to speak ill of the dead, and these ladies are no longer here to defend themselves. I think it would be more dignified to give these very accomplished women the benefit of the doubt. I mean if it's true and you have proof that's one thing, but to honor our dead I think we should not speculate on whether a woman sold herself or not.
🧡great work, thank you.✌🏼
The same happened to actor Jack Nicholson, he was made to believe that his actual grandparent were his parents but his older sister was actually his biological mother who had him when she was a teenager. And he didn't find out until they were all dead.
😮
Dammm that's crazy🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
Wow. I never heard of this. We all forget that celebrities are people too.
Same for Ted bundy…..
That is true
We shouldn't use euphemisms to talk about sexual abuse. If a 12yr old and a 14yr old give birth, they weren't "touched without their consent", they were raped. Using euphemisms downplays the reality that a child never consents to sex with an adult. It's not just sad, it's a crime that should be called out.
So you want the videos taken down for using certain words because that’s what happens
She’s not downplaying the situation but her video can be demonetized and possibly taken down because there are certain words YT will not allow for advertisers.
Why can't certain words be used? This is everywhere on media now. It's ludicrous, especially since we all know (some have letters missing, others use different words or blanks, etc). Who is responsible for this nonsense. It's even on religious programs!!!
FACTS
@@lupejones3694I’m guessing bc the creeps with authority don’t want these words used bc it could mean that truth is coming out .
I’m Sicllian by decent and I have dark olive skin. Growing up in the 50s I was bullied for it and called the N word. Really shameful. But now I love dark skin on me and others. She was a beautiful lady.
Grandmother at 26. 🤯 That is incredibly sad.
@KB-tf8vp, it's not that uncommon in today's society. There are women who became great grandmother (such as Ms. Whoopi Goldberg) in their 50's in life.
@@anthonygriffin1958 you’re confusing something happening more than once with that making it not sad.
@KB-tf8vp , the sad part you speak of is people not being able to look beyond a person's skin tone in the past, that continues to exist in the present, in every walk of life. As the old saying or adage goes, "nothing really changes, it just remains the same" over the years.
I relate to Merle. I am mixed race, The majority of my heritage is Pakistani mixed with Scottish and French.
I didn't know my birth father and was adopted into a white household and a white community. That was rough.
Once I moved to a city that had all types of races, I still wasn't accepted. I never fit in with white people and I didn't fit in with the Pakistani community either.
The people that did make me feel part of community and accepted were the Jamaican and Native communities. I met many wonderful people who are still part of my family all these years later. Everyone was so kind to me. I'll never forget how welcomed I was.💓
Sorry to disappoint you, but Merle Oberon was not mixed race. Her mother's people were Burghers living in Ceylon, Sri Lanka, and they were a European mix of mostly Portuguese, Dutch and British. If her stepfather was her actual father via rape he was white too. If she had any shade it may have been some Portuguese in her bloodline, but she was definitely not Indian, no matter what this video says. It's just another example of people trying to claim successful white people as their own and then colorizing them and making them victims of the evil white people.
@@sarahwinston7828 what’s disappointing is that you’re trolling mixed race & poc biographical videos w your clearly racist delusions. Sri Lanka had people on it before colonizers came. Or in the circles you travel is that not true? & once again, it said she was BORN in India.
There are times when one has to make their own family. Good for you!
It’s horrible how society makes people feel uncomfortable in their own skin - even white skinned people feel the need to get the darkest tan with bronzer. Why is this drilled into women especially? I love your videos. 🧡
The world does not criminalize white skin!!! The world demonizes, dark skin on people of color not white people!!! White people can have dark skin without being demonized! Black people cannot Black people will be demonized!
It's RIDICULOUS!
It's all about control
@@tornadosirenwednesday exactly
It's horrible that she gave into it. That is defeat.
The saddest part of this story is that her mother was darker than she, and Merle called her mother her 'servant.' How SAD and disheartening!! Great presentation!!
Yes. Her mother, a raped child too, was called a servant after birthing a superstar 😢 that is so sad.
Thank you for taking up for her! She was a victim of the times. There was so much messed up about those “days”. If she hadn’t done what she did, we probably wouldn’t know anything about her. That’s the tragedy. Things are too slowly improving, but they are getting better.
She’s the epitome of “secrets make you sick”.
YES!
I agree, she's a stunning beauty. The racism she suffered is a scourge. If she was anything close to sane, it's koodos to her soul.
Everyone has secrets and we virtually all are racially mixed because all "tribes" migrated, raided, intermarried other " tribes" they encountered and procreated. This is not something invented by Europeans but goes back way before the Pharaohs and Babylonians and Mongols and such.
She did the best she could do with the world she lived in. She has my sympathy. Her poor mother must have found it so hard to keep her pride in her child so quiet. 🧡
😢Reminds me of the old movie Imitation of Life. 🧡
Exactly, she did what she could do with what she was born into. Things like this happened a lot in the past for people every where . Back in the day when there was slavery in the US the white would mix with the blacks to the point to where you could not till if the person is mix
She wasn't mixed race. The Ceylon community in Sri Lanka of her mother were Burghers, a mix of Portuguese, Dutch and British people. They were NOT INDIAN! If Merle's stepfather was her real father, Arthur Thompson, he was white, too. What she may have been hiding is that her mother was her grandmother, but there is absolutely NO INDICATION that she was INDIAN. She was in a car accident when she was 26 that damaged her face, no record anywhere of her bleaching her skin. This whole piece is disinformation in order to drive a narrative which isn't true. She was white. Deal with it.
She was beautiful irrespective of where she came from. She made the very best of her looks and tried to further her opportunities in order to live. In a non homogeneous society racial stereotypes can make survival extremely hard, despite any talents a person has. May she rest in peace and be remembered as dignified, graceful and poised as well as a beauty and talented. 🧡🧡🧡🧡
@@yj7598 She was white. Her mothers' people were Burghers from Ceylon/Sri Lanka and were predominantly Dutch, Portuguese & British Europeans. Not Indian. Her father was also British, if her sister was the victim of abuse. She doesn't have any Indian bone structure or color. She really was in a car accident at 26 and needed surgery to her face and care of the scars. No evidence of skin bleaching. This is another made up woke tale trying to put color on Caucasians then claim their accomplishments to elevate POC for vanities' sake.
She was a survivalist. She had to do what was needed to pay the bills, feed herself, & look after her family. 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡
I'm looking forward to see prejudice gone. Different shapes, or skin colours, or features are an enrichment, not a negative thing.
I am looking forward to the day were culture and skin colour are seen in a positive light . People are just people. And should be accepted for what they are .
@tiapina7048, I hate to be the bearer of bad news regarding the content of your comment. If people continue to teach hatred in the household & continue to lack the common sense or logic (education is irrelevant) to pass on to others in the household. It's this kind of thing (racism) that will continue to manifest itself in society.
@@anthonygriffin1958 My father is a racist, that didn't stick with me, and as far as I know neither with my siblings. I know plenty of people in similar households, or people who were racist and then they opened their eyes. It will take time, I'm not expecting to happen any time soon, but every generation is one step further in the right direction.
@@tiapina7048 that will depend on the minds & hearts of people who aren't invested in hate groups that are out to brainwash them about humanity in today's society. It simply takes looking around & seeing what's happening in the country regarding people who are doing such a thing over the years.
The real imitation of life 🧡🧡🧡🧡
🧡🧡🧡
.....ikr.....
A very deeply moving drama. I love this film especially the 1959 version. ❤️
Right I was just thinking that
@ilburton - EXACTLY!!!!
My mom (born in Vermont 1924) into same situation. She found out that her "sister" was really her mother when my mom was 13. Her sister/mom had my mom at 16 - out of wedlock. It was very common practice back then to raise a child in those circumstances with the family.
Oh gosh gotta tell you it explains a lot about my mom and my aunt's relationship! Now my aunt is gone RIP and my mom is a clam. DNA will tell us ALL the truth 😂
A breathtaking beauty. My mother looked very much like her but was born later, in 1923. Our heritage is Eastern European Jewish. Of course, my mother was not a film actress but she did work as an artist in the Hollywood animated film industry. She never experienced any bullying or shaming regarding her dark complexion or heritage. Poor Merle. You are correct in affirming that 21st century women cannot possibly understand the demanding expectations of the early studio system. It is also important to remember that Merle grew up in an India that was deeply entrenched in caste hierarchy and its emphasis on fair skin elitism.
That is so tragic about her story! Not one, but two generations of abuse.😞 I can't imagine going through that, plus the death of her father at a young age, poverty, and all the moving around and having to sell yourself to survive...not to mention having to hide and disguise your heritage to be accepted.
I loved her in Wuthering Heights, and never would have imagined how much she had to overcome!
Such a beauty and talent. 🧡
I have read Merle Oberon's life story, and it is very sad that she had to "pretend" and cover up her origins. 🧡Years ago, when I visited the U.K., I saw what I considered the handsomest young man I had ever seen at a railway station. He was half English and half Indian. There is beauty in all races and ethnicities, especially when inner kindness shines through.
How right u can get good or badvibes from people
Indeed, Indeed
you know india is ra*e central, right?i would nevereven speak with any Indian or Pakistani man!
Merle wasn't the only one. All celebrities were told they weren't good enough, pretty enough, tall enough, thin enough, etc. Jean Harlow died in her 20s from kidney failure due to having to bleach her hair! Hollywood is full of plastic surgeons for a reason.
How did you know he was half Indian
Orange heart 🧡
Merle was drop dead gorgeous.
Merle did what she had for her and her momma’s survival. Who are we to judge her?
Absolutely!
You must watch her in Wuthering Heights with Laurence Oliviay. It will make you cry. Absolutely a beautiful tragic love story. ❤️🧡🧡
They hated each other
You are so correct about race and those times. Plus being poor and all the personal issues-I had no idea and I’ve always loved her acting and now I get why she was so believable in all her roles. Thank you for all of this. All my life I’ve hoped that racism would end because it’s so dumb as we are the human race. Thank you for your work.
I do feel for her. I read the novel Queenie, which was based on her life. I'm not sure how much creative license was taken, but she experienced a lot of trauma and seemed to often operate from a place of fear. It's unfair to judge a woman from not only a different time but a different culture. India was still under an incredibly heavy British influence. Sexism and racism must have been terribly oppressive. 🧡
My Mother was what was called Anglo-Indian and she told us of the daily humiliations what Anglo-Indians went through was unbelievable. Main reason why at the end of British occupation of India more than a quarter of a million emigrated from India to the UK/Canada/New Zealand. Some today still pretend today they are "English' Cliff Richards for one as well as the late Stewart Granger who made it big in Hollywood. Other well known UK actors/pop stars are still around.from the time of the British Raj the last children of the British Raj.
An irony I experience is being dark skinned and asked how long have I lived in the UK. Yet my father is white English and written records prove his family go back to the 13C in Suffolk UK.
🧡
People lied so much back than and hid things in the family so sad
Back then they're still lying today look at all those lying politicians
They still do all the lying, nothing has changed. You can never believe what comes out Hollywood mouth, ever! 🐝
Withering Heights is one of my favorite movies!! 🧡
I realize how cruel people are. She did what she did to survive. People can be nasty as you see how she was afraid of anyone finding out who she was. What we see is a beautiful talented woman.
It's my favorite book! Which version of movie?
Loved the movie too
@@erickamorgan4564 I think Merle's in the 1939 version.
The Scarlet Pimpernel is one of my fave films with her. She was very beautiful and I can imagine even the facial scarring she suffered still did not diminish her beauty and aura, not to mention her talent. Thank you -- just enjoying your docs and rediscovering these women who are STILL legends. It is interesting to learn of the tragedies that shaped them and their careers.
The thing I love about you Karine, is how understanding and compassionate you are with each person that you make a video. I really admire that about you.
Your comments and understanding of the control and prejudice of the time is brilliant
She dated David Niven for a long time and was desperately in love with him but he wouldn’t marry her because of her mixed race heritage. When I heard that I lost a lot of respect for him.
That’s terrible and so is he. She deserved better.
He married a Swedish ‘supermodel’ and they were miserable together. Karma?@@rhonda6791
Why would you do that? The man is the one who proposes marriage and whatever his reason for not doing it has really got nothing to do with anyone. And how would anyone even know that at all. 🐝
Read'The other side of the Moon ' Sheridan Morley
@@amandadassonville4043Your logic fails you. Just as a man has a right to not propose marriage based upon his racial preferences,she has every right to judge that criteria and in turn show her disdain and lack of respect for the reasonings. She is not declaring that he cannot make that decision or hold that criteria. As well he could not declare what opinion she can hold. Both are freedoms.
Beautiful and talented. Thank you for helping us get to know her. Rest in peace.
Thank you for bringing this story to us. She did go through a lot. 🧡
She looks a little more Indian in her later years. Very very beautiful woman. Exquisite features. Wow❤
Great story. Unfortunately times haven’t changed because many Indian actresses and actors are still bleaching their skin to become lighter. Bleaching is big in India. Oberon was really beautiful although she looked like an Indian woman to me. Passing was really big in Hollywood because it determined if you could have a career as a star or a maid. I always wondered about Dorothy Lamar and Dinah Shores real ethnicity. Maybe you could do a bio on them one day
I agree Dorothy Lamar & Dinah Shore ❤😊👍
Nothing has changed since then, black people are still doing the bleaching thing. Even just ordinary black women doing it plus ironing their hair to shreds, and thos who can afford it buy the wigs and hair pieces which I don't know how they sweat it through the day. Forever scratching their heads etc. Why? I don't know but it sure is ridiculous to go to that extent. Everything is false from top to bottom. 😂🐝
@@amandadassonville4043 stop being so negative most black women are not bleaching their skin and more and more black women are starting to embrace our natural hair don't talk about what you don't know
@@amandadassonville4043 meanwhile you'll be the same kind of person who when you see a black person with their natrual hair or dreadlocks you'll start staring like you just saw an alien or burst out unnecessary laughing.
@@amandadassonville4043 Some of what you say is true.
Black women with very coily hair (like mine when unstraightened) have to either a) find styles that work with our natural hair which is not as affirmed as straighter hair textures or b) relax and/or flatiron our hair, wear wigs, sew in hair on top of cornrows in order to fit in more.
So, when you make a joke of this reality you are showing lack of character and attacking the victim of society’s valuing of whiteness.
Not funny, not cool. Just cruel.
I'm about as white as can be. I'm English and German, so my skin is quite light. I've spent many long hours trying to tan, to look better and lightening my hair to look blond. My skin has been so burned! I was glad to become 60 and over and gave up all that nonsense. There's always a stigma. It seems so rediculous.
You say the truth. Its difficult but people should strive to accept what they are at any age and be themselves
Can I just say you are fabulous! ✨
You're doing such a great service for our community.
My mouth is on the floor. 😮
All this time, I've been watching these movies and felt a connection but didn't know why.
Thank you so much. ❤
Ironically and sadly it was her mixed heritage that made her exquisitely beyond beautiful.
Indeed, you hit the nail on the head. Rita Hayworth is another example. Their heritage made them stand out in their beauty and at the same time they had to deny the source of their beauty and success. Ironic indeed.
In contrast the most unattractive people I've met have been able to claim being pure blooded.
@@quazwasd4062rita did not look mixed race. Merle was Eurasian
The story of why it was decided that Merle should be from Tasmania is because it was considered so distant, so cut off that no one from Tasmania would turn up in Hollywood to refute her story but then Errol Flynn arrived to become a film star. By the way, I live in Tasmania and it is an interesting place. I remember when Merle Oberon visited Tasmania, it was huge, the anticipation of welcoming home such a famous ‘daughter’ but then the truth was revealed. The nature of Tasmanians at the time was such that they did not care it was a lie, they still accepted her as their own, it’s very sweet 🧡
Yes, I was proud as a child she was a Tasmanian, like Errol, but was told she was Indian later! Sri Lankan and British is much more exotic! 🤗 Sad! 😪
Tasmania. This is where aborigines were exterminated.
@@therealgodessisis5004 That's not true, many still live today on a separate island, they were moved there because of their inability to integrate or become civilised!
Tasmania is also where the genocide of Aborigines was successfully carried out, which tells you all you need to know about the colonisers.
@@jenniferharrison8915 "or become civilised" ??? Indeed ! That speaks volumes for what YOU are..:!!
This video was amazing. Thank you for creating and posting. Merle will always be my "Cathy".
really great vid! I totally agree people nowadays miss the point on how it REALLY WAS in the 1930 till present.Miss Merle was so pritty no matter what her true origins.
Thank you for standing up for Merle Oberon instead of reviling her the way many would have done. I grew up when movies were still b&w and Hollywood studios ruled actors lives with an iron fist. I am still angry at how they destroyed Judy Garland starting from childhood, yet she took the blame for it. I understand why Merle Oberon lied ~ if she hadn’t, she’d never have become Merle Oberon because she’d never have had the chance to be even in one single film. Bless you for sticking up for her.
Your take on Merle Oberon, (Wuthering Heights) is fascinating. I'm glad her story can be told and that she be fully recognized for what she achieved. I also love that you used in your narration the phrase, 'Touched without her consent' changing the passive to action. Well done. :)
You mean she was raped? Whats with the langauage changes I see in social media? Unalive? As in dead? Pregnant people? You mean pregnant women?
This is such a well done documentary, thank you.
Thank you Karine, its really wonderful to hear your careful research on Merle - which is helping me with mine.
Just to clarify, she was half Indian. Also, her (grandmother) Charlotte had a British husband, which made Merle realistically half British, and half Indian. She was always one of my favorite actresses. I loved the era of moviemaking in the 30s, and 40s.
Thanks for saying that. Merle's birth mother/sister was half British, and then her bio father was also British, making her lighter yet. As with most Indians they range in their skin color. In the Anglo world anyone darker than an English person was dark complected. That's a lot of people in this world: Middle Eastern, Mediterrean, Caribbean, basically anyone form a sunny climate & olive skinned. For my own grandmother, passing through Ellis Island, one year she came in Fair, another year she came in Dark. A lot was the prejudice of the Anglos/English/Irish for anyone not as pale as them.
She is what her parents were, with British ancestry
So called "Indian" is not a race, she black.
I think her real mother Constance was 1/2 white due to rape. Like the grandmother who was also rape at 13/14. Making Merle 1/4 Sri Lankan
Shes half indian move on.@@latoyagolisano782
I never knew Merle's dad was her mom's stepdad, that is sick. There is an 80's film named "Queenie" starring Mia Sara. It was pretty good. I have to check out Merle's films. Her last husband who was 25 years younger, later got involved with Audrey Hepburn after she died. He died a few years ago.
I watched Queenie when it debuted. It was based on the book written by Merles' nephew Michael Korda. Thanks for the additional info. 💫
I don't know about a movie but I do know there was a book. She had a very tragic life.
😮
It's called abuse disgusting step dad
I loved 'Queenie' so much that in the early 2000s I found it on an auction website and bought the DVD! Mia Sara was stunning in that, and the storyline was so different than most tv movies in the 80s.
🧡 I love how you so graciously state things.
You handle your subjects with so much care and compassion 😊
Thank you for the sympathetic and objective biography of Merle Oberon. She was so beautiful. I am a fan of black and white movies form the 30’s and 40s but I had no idea she had Indian heritage (nor do care having grown up in a more open society).
We are all products of the prejudice of the times we live in. Those who are more intrepid will do whatever to survive and succeed. If that means Merle Oberon needed to hide her heritage in a racially prejudiced society, I applaud her for her courage.
🧡
Exactly. Well said. And I don't give a sausage toss about what she had to do to survive injustice and bigotry. She was a hard working, talented, accomplished, beautiful women that I can't help respect and admire. 🍃
🧡
We maybe, but if that were the case we'd all be like her, which isn't true. It's called self-accountability.
If you look at her closely, she has very distinctive Tamil/ South Indian features. Probably Sri Lankan Tamil or form the southern states of India.
I looked close and see someone else. Typing that wont make ppl see what you do or want them to esp if they dont know how those peoples look typically 🤨😒
@@MissCellanious1who do you see when you see her? I’ve seen Tamil people and know their faces
"Indian" is not a race shes African
We Indians have long broad faces. Look at me Dude. Straight up Indo. She also had that. @@devdiya9615
They must be beautiful
Thank you for the kind review. I have seen this actress before, now I love her.
Thanks for this video. Merle is a favorite actor of mine. I love your balanced perspective of her life, why she did what she did to survive in a world not, that at the time was often cruelly prejudiced. What you said about younger generations criticizing older generations is marvelous. There is a saying that a culture (even a person) needs to be judged in the context of their culture (or time). Your comment is so timely and I wished other people would adopt your open mindedness, especially our younger generations. Again, thank you.
Anyone who criticises Oberon doesn't understand how much the world has changed since she was young. At that time, being mixed race was considered a sin.
@SewardWriter, I would say that being biracial was more unacceptable than being a sin regarding one's life. There were people involved in interracial relationships or marriages that were unlawful in the country. It was until the Supreme Court ruled (The Lovings vs The Commonwealth of Virginia) having them to become lawful back in 1967. ⚖️
@@anthonygriffin1958 Many people literally considered it a sin. Where I live, in Oklahoma, it was often seen as damning. This doesn't show up in law. It shows up in history.
@@SewardWriter that's the problem with people's way of thinking in a naive way & not the thinking of the creator God in the end. There are people who will tell you they are Christians in life. Although those people have a poor way of showing that by way of their words & actions throughout the course of time.
@@anthonygriffin1958 You're talking to someone who is not Xtian, and has been hurt unspeakably in Jesus's name. I'm not terribly sympathetic to the religion. I don't need a lecture. All I know is that being biracial was once considered a sin. Period. That is history, and it is humanity. The end.
@SewardWriter, it's not about giving you a lecture regarding the subject matter on the internet. It's about keeping it real about the facts of life. There are people who have thought about everything under the sun to prevent from expecting change from what they have been taught in the household over the years. The southern region is a prime example of that in the country. The sin you speak of is in the minds of people who refuse to deal with change that effects every part of their hearts during the course of their lifetime.
I remember either seeing or reading about her being mixed race. I can understand for those who passed for white, who wanted an opportunity as far having a career and a better life. But it's sad that they chose distance themselves from their family and friends.
Well, she had to. Not that it's okay, but it demonstrates the power of "whiteness" in order to be able to live a decent life. It's very sad.
@@LisaF777orbit “white”enough, even olive skinned had to compete.
@@lindaanthony7890That's true too
These mixed people are evil. They will throw pure non yts under the bus for their goals
I don’t blame her since they pretty much covered up the fact that she was molested and raped. And they did that all to her.
"Temptation" is one of my favorites❤.
Great Info ‼️
I love that you don't judge these people & ask the same of your followers. Very classy love.
Many ears ago, I remember watching a UA-camr stroll down the streets of Brazil. I was shocked about the amount of black people who lived there. That's when I learned that Brazil has the second largest population of Nigerians or some African country, can't remember. Brazilian media would make you think otherwise. Colorism is pathetic.
Actually Brazil imported more black slaves than any other country. That’s why there are so many black people.
So in Brazil if you're half black you're considered white if you're skin is on the light side. But who cares, I love honey olive colored skin, and black is beautiful....see through white skin with purple veins showing not so much. I like to look past the color and straight into the beauty that is present in all of us.
In fact look at the folks in DR and Columbia and of course Cuba!
and especially on Tiktok...they love to call all people of color regardless of origin on there, white, lol. I've seen people get bullied on there for just stating their heritage, even if it's obvious. And Brazil being predominantly African doesn't surprise me, because the brazilians I grew up around I kept mixing up with other Carribean people lol.
She embraced her Indian heritage toward the end of her life. I'm glad for that! I'm sad for what she went through.
So sensitively done . Thank you 🧡
I really appreciate your presentation on Merle Oberon! It is tragic that that people judge what they do not know. We cannot ever truly understand what people experienced throughout history. I have two people in my background who had children when they were young as a result of molestation -- and their children were raised by their parents as younger siblings. It is how those parents could protect their children, it was the right thing to do. As for her skin color, she was beautiful just the way she was! I loved her in the old movies. It is tragic that she had to try to keep her true self hidden to succeed as an actress. 🧡
Michael Korda, who was a famous book editor in New York, wrote a famous novel closely based on the life of Merle Oberon including her Indian childhood and her rise to stardom. The book was called Queenie and Michael Korda was the nephew of film director Alexander Korda who was married to Merle Oberon (1939-1945)🧡🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🍊
I read that
His book was adapted into a television miniseries in 1987 with Phoebe Cates.
@@bluekitty3731 Missed that one. She did go to extraordinary measures to hide her background.
Wow!!! I remember a television movie based on that...QUEENIE!
Saw the tv serie. 🧡
This continues today. My heritage is English and Irish. I have very pale skin. I worked at a high-end cosmetic and skincare store. There was a university close by, that had many Chinese students. The girls would come into the shop and just stare at my skin. They all wanted to know what I did to have such light skin, because they wanted it too. When I told them this is just my skin color and I do nothing to make it lighter, they all said how lucky I was to have such light skin. They told me in their country it was a sign of high status to have such light skin. I told them I am good with my skin color, and you should be too.
Yes, darker skin on a woman in Asia usually meant you were a laborer and worked in the fields in the hot sun. The higher class you were was the lighter you ended up being because you didn't have to do that to exist. You would also have servants, etc...In their culture, the higher class you are , the more seemingly beautiful you are. It's an antiquated notion now, but many still live by these ideas of what beauty is.
@@TheLoveweaver you Asians are still spewing that myth that the sun makes you dark skinned?
Pfft you're not that special
@@TheLoveweaver I was truly surprised that it mattered to them.
@@user-Jfjd638bdj82 Bless your heart, never said I was, was just relaying a situation that surprised me.
I am so glad you did this video on Merle! Thank you. I’m going to check her out now and add her to my “ roster “ of Hollywood leading ladies that I’ve watched , read about and researched. You piqued my interest and she was a thoroughly “ regal looking” beauty.
It's heartbreaking to think of the two generations of Merle's family experienced bearing children in such an horrendous way. imagine the trauma they lived with but it seems like Merle's Mother and Grandmother still had love for their child.
The way I screamed at the title omg Merle! Then I got sad and immediately thought of what the step-dad did to her mother/sister smh every time I want to appreciate Merle’s face, I glimpse an article and fall into the rabbit hole of her origin around her family secret. But we move and so glad the world could witness her talent. 😌💗 Rip Merle, she’s my inspiration for whenever I get my lashes done. Something about that curl lash at the end omg I love her!
Love Merle Oberon. A great beauty and huge talent. Wasn't aware of her tragic childhood. It's astounding she ended up a huge star. It was probably due to the unconditional love of her grandmother. There was so much racism then (still is) that she was subjected to. That said, she triumphed against all odds.
Thank you so much @KarineAlourde for your compassionate and empathetic treatment of this woman's story. My family is from Calcutta and I am Indian and I had no idea about her! Even today the shadism in India is intense .... I cannot imagine what it would have been like. I grew up as the only Brown kid in rural Canada in the 1980s - and being an isolated person of colour before the internet was a VERY different experience. Thank you for sharing am excited to look up her films. I feel like I now have a little bit of my own history back!
You have a wonderful channel and are an empathetic person, we need more🧡
You are so right about people not understanding the racism of Oberon's time. I grew up in the 50s in the South, and racism was absolutely horrible. Anyone with darker than average skin was viewed with suspicion. I am white and quite fair skinned, and I have very curly hair. Some of the kids i went to school with hinted that I might have African ancestors. So Merle did what she had to in order to survive. And I wholeheartedly agree that racism needs to go!
Why did you take it in a negative way when kids hinted you might have African ancestors due to your hair?
@@KathyPrendergast-cu5ci Because it was meant as an insult. If you were familiar with the atmosphere in the South at the time, you'd get that. And I was a child. Children are sensitive to the scorn of other children. I would react very differently now as an adult, but then no one has said that to me since middle school.
Say a young girl was touched is a lot softer than saying that the child was raped!
"Touched without consent" gets past the UA-cam censors.
Doesn't censoring the word rape seem like erasure of the reality of people's experiences? Maybe just me. But all this trigger warning and language erasure seems, in its own backward way, fascist
Love your videos. Wish they were longer and more detailed.
Thanks for the video, I have now watch to the end and it was extremely interesting. What a life, but how sad people felt they had to hide their origins because or the widespread prejudices of the time. She was such a beautiful woman.
She was born into confusion n grew up in being bullied, fighting to be accepted, and she did what she had to do to survive. The world with its cruelty will eat you up n spit you out. I believe that she was a courageous, and beautiful woman. What torture she had to endure. I pray that God will continue to break down the doors of prejudice , hatred, and selfishness and allow people to treat and respect others for whom God made them to be.
Wow… 🫢I have NEVER heard of her this was deeply fascinating thank you kindly for sharing this Karine.🧡🧡🧡
This was a great bio! Keep them coming!
This was very well done. Thank you.
Thanks, Karine for discussing this topic. There have been so many discrepancies regarding Merle's background and ethnicity. I remember watching a television biopic on her life entitled Queenie. Produced in 1987, it starred Mia Sara in the titled role and the late Kirk Douglas. Her most famous role was portraying the tragic heroine, Cathy in the 1939 classic, Wuthering Heights. It was a common practice for non-White individuals to "pass" in the days of Jim Crow and those who worked in entertainment. Having Anglo features and straight hair was an easy pathway to stardom if they concealed their ethnic origin. Merle faced backlash from many fans later in life for embracing this practice of acceptance.
Thanks Karine another great story about 'Hollywood Star'👏🎥❤
Thank you for your thoughtful, intelligent video. You are right. It is very easy to say what is the right or wrong thing to do. I think that was her way of coping with all the abuse she went through. Life is messy and people are complicated.🧡
This us familiar to me from other Hollywood stories. Jack Nicholson had the sane situation as Bobby Darin. Bobby Darin thought his Grama was his mother, his so-called sister was his real mother.
Thank you for being so compassionate towards Merle Oberon. Going through life with so much shame, fear, self consciousness, etc. would be so sad.😢
Amazing ❤❤❤
Imitation of Life, 1959. Lana Turner, Sandra Dee. Juanita Moore. I’ve watched this movie a thousand times, and it kinda sounds like Merle’s life story.
It is truly amazing what times were like back then.
It’s so awesome Marilyn’s mom may be Mexican. There are blonde haired, blue eyed Mexicans btw. Her hair was a light brown naturally (I believe).
Merle owned a home in my neighborhood I live in now. We have a history museum and she was mentioned. Quite a lot of famous ppl have lived up here. It’s about an hour south of Hollywood, it’s quiet country living. And many movie stars and singers and producers owned homes in Palm Springs also, close to Hollywood, convenient.
Thank you for this lovely video ❤
What's next Betsy Ross was black now too
Please know the difference between race, nationality & ethnicity....geez
I will always remember Merle Oberon for Wuthering Heights. My own mother was saying "Heathcliff" around the house. Great movie with Sir Lawrence Olivier!
You gave a sympathetic and insightful account of Merle Oberon's sad, yet extraordinary life. Bravo!
I never heard of Merle Oberon and I thought I knew old Hollywood. How sad that no child have ever been safe in this world. Ironic how Merle's life was similar to the movie "Imitation Of Life".
You never saw "Wuthering Heights"? A true classic!
I have always loved Merle Oberon. She had an unearthly beauty and was so talented as well. I didn't know all of her background and was impressed with your compassionate recounting of her life. It's sad that she had to fight through so much, and I think she had a most extraordinary life and career
❤❤ me too...I 1st saw her as Kathy in Wuthering Heights..I have been such an admirer.
Great content. Compassionate, gentle, good common sense. Thank you.
🧡 My grandmother did the same with my mom. She would mix bleach with Johnson and Johnson baby lotion on my mother's body when my mom was a baby, born in 1932. Trying to make her skin white. Yes, your right the times were different. But my grandmother gave birth to my mom when she was age 18. My grandmother feel in love with a black man. Never married. He had to leave town for fear of being tared and feathered. Both communicated till he passed in 1956. This was in Bedford, Indiana. Grandma raised my mother in a Catholic school to protect my mom from the white people. Never got to meet my grandmother or my grandfather. But, a very Sad ending for "BOTH". Thank you, for your hard work & keeping it "Real". Texas/USA 🇺🇸
Good your grandparents took precautions. The most (in)famous lynching photo -2 young men , dude w/ a hitler mustache lookin into the camera is in Marion IN.
What an interesting story....thanks for sharing. What happened to your grandparents?
@@TheSeedpearl My grandmother was kicked out of her home town, Bedford, Indiana. By her father. Said he didn't have a "N" loving daughter. Never spoke with her since. Demanded that the rest of his clan "Not' to have anything to do with my grandmother. My mother was "Never " excepted by the family. That story is still alive until this very day. Plenty more stories to say reqarding the birth of my mother. And the pain my grandmother had to in dored after the birth of my mom. A story of racism that should be shared. Texas/USA 🇺🇸
@@Gabby14597 My goodness I'm so very sorry to hear this. People had such strange views on race those days. So sad your grandmother had to suffer so much because of colour prejudice. I come from a south Asian country and we have always had people of different colours and religions. So religion, not colour plays a greater role in my birth country and similar stories are told, but because of religion.
I do hope your mother was able to lead a less painful life. One hopes this business of looking only at colour and race will disappear entirely with time and education. It's what is inside a person that is important, not the black, brown or white colouring. We should treat All people with respect. I wish you the very best today and always.
Merle was such a beautiful, exotic looking woman. It is such a shame that she lived in the times she did. I don't fault her for creating a persona that would allow her to make a good life for herself. It was the way things were. I am sure she paid a huge price for it. So sad.🧡
Thank you for sharing this story!!!
🧡🧡🧡 what a story, I was riveted. Thank you so much. What a brave and amazing woman.
What a life story! I don’t judge her whatsoever!! She did what she felt she needed to do. She is absolutely stunning in a really interesting way. 🧡
I read Queenie over 20 something years ago not realizing it was based on a true story! The story always stuck with me. It was so nice to finally put a face to this story (no google back when I read it lol). Thank you Karine for another wonderful video ❤.
There's LOTS of stories like this.
Many whites and blacks went across lines.
I know a few whites with light skinned grsnnies
I absolutely loved her in Wuthering Heights. I was surprised to hear that Lawrence Oliver didn't want to work with her.
I appreciate these story’s
It was horrible that she had to hide her heritage. But as you said, we don't know what all she had to get through. But, we have to understand about the male stars who wouldn't associate with her because it would have been career suicide for them to be with a dark skin woman.
Exactly! I feel like when it comes to the male stars people would often overlook at their career risks simply because they're men and they need to "man up" but look at how Karine was so sympathizing with Merle and her career risks?
The thing about Merle is, she really was embarrassing about her background. She had a chance when she was older to at very least privately acknowledging her siblings when they wanted to see her but she didn't. Time changed significantly in the 70s than in the 30s. She strongly lied not just to the world but to herself till the very end.
I truly am surprised at how she kept the lie going when she was older because her skin pigmentation was showing more than ever and it was obvious she was brown. Not tan but brown. There was a photo of her sitting next to Greer Garson and Rosalind Russell and she stood out. I don't know what happened to the skin bleaching but it didn't work in her favor at all when she was older.
My Anglo-Indian grandma was asked to say she was Portuguese, if anyone askedxx.
she was so beautiful. and Wow what an excellent make up artist, if she had scars, she did a wonderful job hiding it 🧡
I love listening to you especially since you slowed down the tempo.
I love the way you try to see things from the perspective of Oberon instead of applying current thoughts. So few people are able to disengage from their own mind set to see things from a past time.
Very interesting video. You are also very modest in your use of language. I appreciate that too.
Bless you
I’m surprised you didn’t mention anything about her affair with one of the most popular actors at that time, Leslie Howard
ohhh, thanks for the extra🫖🙌🏼🫶🏼
This happens so much to regular ole folks. As a child; my neighbors had a little girl that was a bit younger than I was. She had two older sisters. I always thought it was odd that her “mother” seemed older than other mothers in the area. Come to find out; her oldest “sister” was actually her biological mother. What families did back in the day to cover up “scandal” was just ridiculous. Such deep seeded lies usually always come to the light and are unnecessarily emotionally traumatizing for everyone involved.
Well done presentation and commentary 🧡
Great footage! Thank you for sharing. I agree with your comments!