Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert was born in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France on September 13, 1903 and was brought to the United States as a child three years later. Born Emilie 'Lily' Claudette Chauchoin, she went to high school in New York. She was studying at the Art Students League when, in 1923, she took the name Claudette Colbert for her first Broadway role in "The Wild Westcotts". Her most noteworthy stage vehicle was the "The Barker" in 1927. Her first film was a silent For the Love of Mike (1927), directed by Frank Capra. Made on a shoestring, the movie was a flop, and she vowed that it would be her last film role: "I only left Broadway when the crash came. The Depression killed the theater, and the pictures were manna from heaven". She had her first film success the next year, however, in The Lady Lies (1929). Her early notable films were all box-office hits and included Cleopatra (1934), in which she played the title role enticingly. She had her greatest triumph playing a runaway heiress, with enormous charm, opposite Clark Gable in Capra's comedy It Happened One Night (1934), for which she won the Academy Award as Best Actress. By 1938 her keen ability in business made her the highest paid star in Hollywood. By 1950, though, her star had begun to wane. She returned to the stage in 1956 when she replaced Margaret Sullavan during the spring and summer in the comedy "Janus". Appearances in other Broadway productions followed, including "The Marriage-Go-Round". Besides the stage, she did TV specials and had a supporting role in a notable TV movie, The Two Mrs. Grenvilles (1987), for which she received a Golden Globe award. In 1989 she was presented with a Life Achievement award from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She married actor Norman Foster in 1928, although they never lived together and were divorced after seven years. She married surgeon Dr. Joel Pressman soon after and remained married until his death in 1968. In latter years she divided her time between an apartment in New York and a 200-year-old plantation house in Speightstown, Barbados, where she entertained such guests as Frank Sinatra and Ronald Reagan. She remained on Barbados Island after her stroke. On July 30, 1996, Claudette died in Speightstown, Barbados. She was 92.
Known For
Credits
- 2003 · Complicated Women as Self (archive footage)
- 1999 · Frank Capra Jr. Remembers: 'It Happened One Night' as Self (archive footage)
- 1997 · The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender as Self (archive footage)
- 1994 · That's Entertainment! III as (archive footage)
- 1987 · The Two Mrs. Grenvilles as Alice Grenville
- 1978 · The Kennedy Center Honors as Self
- 1965 · The Love Goddesses as (archive footage)
- 1961 · Parrish as Ellen McLean
- 1957 · Suspicion as Edith Miller
- 1956 · Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre as Lucy Bradford
- 1956 · Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre as Beth Brayden
- 1956 · Playhouse 90 as
- 1956 · The Steve Allen Show as Self - Guest
- 1956 · The Steve Allen Show as Self - Party Host
- 1956 · Telephone Time as
- 1956 · Blithe Spirit as Ruth Condomine
- 1955 · Texas Lady as Prudence Webb
- 1954 · Climax! as
- 1954 · Climax! as Dr. Jane Everest
- 1954 · Climax! as Sister Cecilia
- 1954 · Royal Affairs in Versailles as Mme de Montespan
- 1954 · Daughters of Destiny as Elizabeth Whitefield (segment "Elisabeth")
- 1953 · Letter to Loretta as Self - Guest Host
- 1953 · The Oscars as Self
- 1953 · General Electric Theater as Edith Miller
- 1952 · The Planter's Wife as Liz Frazer
- 1951 · Let's Make It Legal as Miriam Halsworth
- 1951 · Thunder on the Hill as Sister Mary Bonaventure
- 1950 · The Jack Benny Program as Claudette Colbert
- 1950 · The Colgate Comedy Hour as Self
- 1950 · The Secret Fury as Ellen Ewing
- 1950 · Three Came Home as Agnes Newton Keith
- 1950 · What's My Line? as Self - Mystery Guest
- 1950 · Robert Montgomery Presents as
- 1949 · Bride for Sale as Nora Shelley
- 1948 · Family Honeymoon as Katie Armstrong Jordan
- 1948 · The Ed Sullivan Show as Self (archive footage)
- 1948 · Sleep, My Love as Alison Courtland
- 1947 · The Egg and I as Betty MacDonald
- 1946 · The Secret Heart as Lee Addams
- 1946 · Without Reservations as Kit Madden
- 1946 · Tomorrow Is Forever as Elizabeth Hamilton
- 1945 · Guest Wife as Mary Price
- 1944 · Practically Yours as Peggy Martin
- 1944 · Since You Went Away as Mrs. Anne Hilton
- 1943 · So Proudly We Hail as Lt. Janet 'Davy' Davidson
- 1943 · No Time for Love as Katherine Grant
- 1942 · Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood No. 6 as Herself
- 1942 · The Palm Beach Story as Geraldine 'Gerry' Jeffers
- 1941 · Remember the Day as Nora Trinell
- 1941 · Skylark as Lydia Kenyon
- 1940 · Arise, My Love as Augusta Nash
- 1940 · Boom Town as Betsy Bartlett
- 1940 · Cavalcade of the Academy Awards as Self (archive footage)
- 1940 · Hollywood: Style Center of the World as Self
- 1939 · Drums Along the Mohawk as Lana (Magdelana)
- 1939 · It's a Wonderful World as Edwina Corday
- 1939 · Midnight as Eve Peabody
- 1938 · Breakdowns of 1938 as Tatiana (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1938 · Zaza as Zaza
- 1938 · Hollywood Goes to Town as Self
- 1938 · Bluebeard's Eighth Wife as Nicole De Loiselle
- 1937 · Tovarich as Grand Duchess Tatiana Petrovna Romanov
- 1937 · I Met Him in Paris as Kay Denham
- 1937 · Maid of Salem as Barbara Clarke
- 1936 · Under Two Flags as Cigarette
- 1935 · The Bride Comes Home as Jeannette Desmereau
- 1935 · The Fashion Side of Hollywood as Self
- 1935 · She Married Her Boss as Julia Scott
- 1935 · Private Worlds as Dr. Jane Everest
- 1935 · The Gilded Lily as Marilyn David
- 1934 · Imitation of Life as Beatrice 'Bea' Pullman
- 1934 · Cleopatra as Cleopatra
- 1934 · It Happened One Night as Ellie Andrews
- 1934 · Four Frightened People as Judy Jones
- 1933 · Torch Singer as Sally Trent, aka Mimi Benton
- 1933 · Three-Cornered Moon as Elizabeth Rimplegar
- 1933 · I Cover the Waterfront as Julie Kirk
- 1933 · Tonight Is Ours as Princess Nadya
- 1932 · The Sign of the Cross as Empress Poppaea
- 1932 · The Phantom President as Felicia Hammond
- 1932 · Make Me a Star as Claudette Colbert (uncredited)
- 1932 · The Man from Yesterday as Sylvia Suffolk
- 1932 · The Misleading Lady as Helen Steele
- 1932 · The Wiser Sex as Margaret Hughes
- 1931 · His Woman as Sally Clark
- 1931 · Secrets of a Secretary as Helen Blake
- 1931 · The Smiling Lieutenant as Franzi
- 1931 · The House That Shadows Built as (archive footage)
- 1931 · Honor Among Lovers as Julia Traynor
- 1930 · Manslaughter as Lydia Thorne
- 1930 · The Big Pond as Barbara Billings
- 1930 · Young Man of Manhattan as Ann Vaughn
- 1929 · The Lady Lies as Joyce Roamer
- 1929 · The Hole in the Wall as Jean Oliver
- 1927 · For the Love of Mike as Mary