Agent: ‘Guys and Dolls,’ ‘Hamlet,’ ‘Spartacus’ leading lady Jean Simmons dies of lung cancer

Agent: ‘Guys and Dolls’ star Jean Simmons dies

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — A representative of Jean Simmons confirms that the “Guys and Dolls” and “Spartacus” actress has died of lung cancer.

Agent Judy Page told The Associated Press on Sunday that Simmons died at her home in Santa Monica on Friday, surrounded by her family. Simmons was 88.

A classically trained actress who started appearing in films at 14, Simmons used her beauty and charm in virtually every genre and played leading lady to virtually every major leading man of the mid-century.

She sang opposite Marlon Brando in 1955’s “Guys and Dolls,” played Ophelia opposite Laurence Olivier in 1948 Best Picture Oscar winner “Hamlet” and appeared alongside Kirk Douglas in 1960’s “Spartacus.”

Simmons won an Emmy for her role in the 1980s miniseries “The Thorn Birds.”