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A strikingly beautiful yet troubled Irish leading lady of the 1950s, Constance was born into a struggling family in Limerick. Her story is one of the more tragic and lurid tales of a promising career derailed. It began in 1946 when she won a look-alike competition featured in a Dublin movie magazine, hailed as a dead ringer for Hedy Lamarr. This led to a successful screen test with the Rank Organisation. While being groomed at the Rank 'charm school,' Constance revealed her fiery temperament and refusal to conform, which quickly resulted in her dismissal.
Relocating to London, she supported herself by taking supporting roles in various British films. A small part as a maid in The Mudlark (1950) caught Hollywood’s attention, and she signed a contract with 20th Century Fox amid much fanfare and publicity. However, she soon clashed with producers and executives, notably refusing to change her surname from 'Smith' to something deemed more marketable. She later alleged she was subjected to casting couch politics—an accusation that, considering her appearance and Darryl F. Zanuck’s role as Fox's head of production at the time, seems plausible.
Briefly in the spotlight as a presenter at the 1952 Academy Awards, she appeared in a series of B-movies including Red Skies of Montana (1952), Treasure of the Golden Condor (1953), and the thriller Man in the Attic (1953). Whether due to emotional fragility or insufficient talent to be a true star, Constance never rose above leading lady roles. By the end of her contract in 1953, she had undergone a studio-forced abortion, and her first marriage was falling apart. As years passed and roles fitting her ambitions eluded her, she descended into bitterness, drugs, and alcohol.
Her final film appearances were minor roles in Italian productions between 1955 and 1959, including portraying Lucretia Borgia in Conspiracy of the Borgias (1959). These failed to revive her dwindling career. During her time in Rome, she attempted suicide by overdosing on barbiturates.
Her troubles worsened: in 1962 and 1968, she was sentenced to brief prison terms for attempting to stab her partner, documentary filmmaker and film historian Paul Rotha. She also made several additional suicide attempts. Her later years were spent in decline, frequently hospitalized and occasionally working as a cleaner during brief periods of recovery. Constance died in obscurity as an alcoholic on a street in Islington, London. Irish author and blogger Sharon Slater poignantly remarked of Smith, "a sadder end is hard to imagine.
