Constance Worth was an Australian actress who became an alcoholic after her career ended
She was born Enid Jocelyn Howarth on August 19, 1911 in Sidney, Australia. Her parents divorced when she was a child. After graduating from high school she began her career on the stage. Constance made her film debut in the 1933 Australian melodrama The Squatter's daughter. Then she appeared in the drama The Silence Of Dean Maitland. Her performances got rave reviews and she became a star in Australia. The beautiful blonde decided to move to Hollywood in early 1936. When she was unable to find work she attempted suicide. Soon after she was offered a contract at RKO. She was given roles in the dramas China Passage and The Windjammer with George O'Brien. The press called her "Australia's Gift To The Screen". Constance impulsively married actor George Brent on May 10, 1937. They split up just a few weeks later. Their divorce turned nasty when George claimed they were never legally married. All of the stress caused her to have a nervous breakdown. After RKO dropped her contract in 1939 her career quickly stalled.
During the 1940s she landed small roles in the films Suspicion, Cover Girl, and City Without Men. At one point she had to take a job as a waitress so she could pay her bills. While filming Klondike Kate in 1943 she began an affair with married writer William A. Pierce. He divorced his wife and they were married in March of 1947. By this time she had developed a serious drinking problem. Unfortunately during the Summer of 1947 she was badly injured in a car accident. She spent months recovering in the hospital and had to have plastic surgery on her face. Her final film role was in the 1949 low budget drama Western Renegade. Constance was heartbroken when she had a miscarriage in 1950. Then she and her husband decided to move to Memphis, Tennessee. Sadly she continued to struggle with alcoholism. On October 18, 1963 she died from cirrhosis of the liver at the age of fifty-two. She was cremated and buried at Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles, California.
