Alicia Rhett

 Alicia Rhett (February 1, 1915 – January 3, 2014

She was an actress and portrait painter who is best remembered for her role as India Wilkes in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind. During a performance of The Recruiting Officer in 1936, Rhett was spotted by Hollywood director George Cukor, who was impressed by her charm and beauty. The director was scouting for an actress to play the role of Scarlett O'Hara after producer David Selznick purchased the film rights to the Margaret Mitchell novel. Rhett auditioned for the part of Melanie Hamilton, but the role went instead to Olivia de Havilland. In March 1937, Cukor offered Rhett the role of India Wilkes, sister of Ashley Wilkes. After the success of Gone with the Wind, Rhett left Hollywood and returned to South Carolina and retired from filmmaking in 1941, citing a lack of suitable roles. Rhett later became an accent coach for aspiring actors and a radio announcer at station WTMA in Charleston. She was also a talented sketch artist and portrait painter, and between takes in Gone with the Wind she would do sketches and drawings of her fellow actors. Alicia Rhett died on January 3, 2014 at age 98, and is buried at Saint Philips Episcopal Church Cemetery in Charleston, SC. At the time of her death, she was the oldest surviving credited cast member of Gone with the Wind.