Balancing Act

MAYUKH SEN HAS WRITTEN AN EMPATHETIC BIOGRAPHY OF MERLE OBERON, WHO MADE IT BIG IN HOLLYWOOD BY CONCEALING HER SOUTH ASIAN ROOTS

- -Suhani Singh

What if you spend your whole life living a lie and do it so convincingly that you believe it too. That was the case with actress Merle Oberon (1911-79), born Estelle Merle O'Brien Thompson in Bombay. In her quest to make it to the magical world of Hollywood, Oberon hid her Anglo-Indian roots and claimed she was white and hailed from Tasmania, Australia. It's a lie she'd take to the grave.