Claudette Colbert | |
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Claudette Colbert, 1942
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Born |
Emilie (Lily) Claudette Chauchoin September 13, 1903 Saint-Mandé, France |
Died | July 30, 1996 Speightstown, Barbados |
(aged 92)
Resting place | Godings Bay Church Cemetery, Speightstown, Saint Peter, Barbados 13°14′28″N 59°38′32″W / 13.241235°N 59.642320°W |
Nationality | American |
Other names | Lily Claudette Chauchoin |
Education | Art Students League of New York |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1925–65, 1974–87 |
Height | 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) |
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Awards | See below |
Claudette Colbert (September 13, 1903 – July 30, 1996) was an American film actress, and a leading lady in Hollywood for over two decades, who has been called "The mixture of inimitably beauty, sophistication, wit, and vivacity".
Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the late 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures. Initially associated with Paramount Pictures, Colbert later gradually shifted to working as a freelance actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in It Happened One Night (1934), and received two other Academy Award nominations. Other notable films include Cleopatra (1934) and The Palm Beach Story (1942).
With her round apple-face, big eyes, charm, aristocratic manner, and flair for light comedy as well as emotional drama, Colbert was known for a versatility that led to her becoming one of the best-paid stars of the 1930s and 1940s. During her career, Colbert starred in more than sixty movies. She was the industry's highest-paid star in 1938 and 1942. Among her frequent co-stars were Fred MacMurray in seven films (1935−1949), and Fredric March in four films (1930−1933).
By the early 1950s, she had largely retired from the screen in favor of television and stage work, earning a Tony Award nomination for The Marriage-Go-Round in 1959. Her career tapered off during the early 1960s, but in the late 1970s she experienced a career resurgence in theater, earning a Sarah Siddons Award for her Chicago theater work in 1980. For her television work in The Two Mrs. Grenvilles (1987) she won a Golden Globe Award and received an Emmy Award nomination.