 Director Henry King was impressed by her screen test as Bernadette Soubirous for "The Song of Bernadette" (1943) and she won the coveted role over hundreds of applicants.In 1944, on her 25th birthday, Jones won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Bernadette Soubirous, her third screen role.Simultaneous to her rise to prominence for "The Song of Bernadette", Jones began an affair with producer Selznick.