1903-09-13 ( 121 years old ) in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France
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.
Movies
Complicated Women
2003-05-06
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
1997-11-01
That's Entertainment! III
1994-07-01
Parrish
1961-05-04
Blithe Spirit
1956-01-14
Texas Lady
1955-11-23
Royal Affairs in Versailles
1954-02-10
Daughters of Destiny
1954-01-21
The Planter's Wife
1952-12-04
Let's Make It Legal
1951-10-31
Thunder on the Hill
1951-10-17
The Secret Fury
1950-02-21
Three Came Home
1950-02-20
Bride for Sale
1949-11-12
Family Honeymoon
1948-12-06
Sleep, My Love
1948-02-18
The Egg and I
1947-05-01
The Secret Heart
1946-12-25
Without Reservations
1946-05-13
Tomorrow Is Forever
1946-02-20
Guest Wife
1945-07-27
Practically Yours
1944-12-20
Since You Went Away
1944-06-30
So Proudly We Hail
1943-09-09
No Time for Love
1943-04-09
Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood No. 6
1942-10-05
The Palm Beach Story
1942-08-28
Remember the Day
1941-12-25
Skylark
1941-11-21
Arise, My Love
1940-11-08
Boom Town
1940-08-30
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
1940-07-31
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
1940-05-29
Drums Along the Mohawk
1939-11-10
It's a Wonderful World
1939-05-19
Midnight
1939-03-24
Breakdowns of 1938
1938-12-31
Zaza
1938-12-29
Hollywood Goes to Town
1938-07-07
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife
1938-03-25
Tovarich
1937-12-25
I Met Him in Paris
1937-05-28
Maid of Salem
1937-02-12
Under Two Flags
1936-04-30
The Bride Comes Home
1935-12-25
The Fashion Side of Hollywood
1935-11-04
She Married Her Boss
1935-09-19
Private Worlds
1935-04-19
The Gilded Lily
1935-01-25
Imitation of Life
1934-11-23
Cleopatra
1934-10-05
It Happened One Night
1934-02-22
Four Frightened People
1934-01-26
Torch Singer
1933-09-08
Three-Cornered Moon
1933-08-08
I Cover the Waterfront
1933-05-19
Tonight Is Ours
1933-01-21
The Sign of the Cross
1932-11-30
The Phantom President
1932-09-23
Make Me a Star
1932-07-01
The Man from Yesterday
1932-06-24
The Misleading Lady
1932-04-15
The Wiser Sex
1932-03-14
His Woman
1931-11-20
Secrets of a Secretary
1931-09-05
The Smiling Lieutenant
1931-08-01
The House That Shadows Built
1931-07-08
Honor Among Lovers
1931-02-28
Manslaughter
1930-07-22
The Big Pond
1930-05-03
Young Man of Manhattan
1930-04-19
The Lady Lies
1929-09-21
The Hole in the Wall
1929-04-27
For the Love of Mike
1927-07-31
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