Claudette Colbert

Nationality: American. Born: Claudette Lily Chauchoin in Paris, France, 13 September 1903. Education: Attended Washington Irving High School, New York, graduated 1923; studied briefly at Art Students League, New York. Family: Married 1) the actor Norman Foster, 1928 (divorced 1935); 2) Dr. Joel J. Pressman, 1935 (died 1968). Career: 1912—family moved to New York; 1923—met playwright Anne Morrison, offered bit part in her The Wild Westcotts; changed name to Colbert; 1925–26—on Broadway in A Kiss in a Taxi; 1927—first film role, for Paramount at Astoria studios; 1929—first talkie, The Hole in the Wall; Paramount contract; 1944—terminated Paramount contract; 1952–55—worked in European films and theater; 1956—replaced Margaret Sullavan in Broadway production of Janus; occasional stage appearances: with Rex Harrison on Broadway in The Kingfisher, 1978, and in London and New York in Aren't We All?, 1984–85; 1984—tribute staged by Film Society of Lincoln Center; 1987—in TV mini-series The Two Mrs. Grenvilles. Awards: Best Actress Academy Award, for It Happened One Night, 1934. Died: July 29, 1996.

Films as Actress:

1927

For the Love of Mike (Capra) (as Mary)

1929

The Hole in the Wall (Florey) (as Jean Oliver); The Lady Lies (Henley) (as Joyce Roamer)

1930

The Big Pond (Henley) (as Barbara Billings); La Grande Mare (Henley—French version of The Big Pond); Young Man of Manhattan (Bell) (as Ann Vaughn); Manslaughter (Abbott) (as Lydia Thorne); L'Enigmatique Monsieur Parkes (Gasnier—French version of Slightly Scarlet) (as Lucy de Stavrin)

1931

Honor among Lovers (Arzner) (as Julia Traynor); The Smiling Lieutenant (Lubitsch) (as Franzi); Le Lieutenant souriant (Lubitsch—French version of The Smiling Lieutenant); Secrets of a Secretary (Abbott) (as Helen Blake); His Woman (Sloman) (as Sally Clark)

1932

The Wiser Sex (Viertel) (as Margaret Hughes); The Misleading Lady (Walker) (as Helen Steele); The Man from Yesterday (Viertel) (as Sylvia Suffolk); Phantom President (Taurog) (as Felicia Hammond); The Sign of the Cross (Cecil B. DeMille) (as Empress Poppaea); Make Me a Star (Beaudine) (as guest star)

1933

Tonight Is Ours (Walker) (as Princess Nadja); I Cover the Waterfront (Cruze) (as Julie Kirk); Three-Cornered Moon (Nugent) (as Elizabeth Rimplegar); Torch Singer (Broadway Singer) (Hall and Somnes) (as Sally Trent/Mimi Barton)

1934

Four Frightened People (Cecil B. DeMille) (as Judy Cavendish); It Happened One Night (Capra) (as Ellie Andrews); Cleopatra (Cecil B. DeMille) (title role); Imitation of Life (Stahl) (as Beatrice Pullman)

1935

The Gilded Lily (Ruggles) (as Lillian David); Private Worlds (La Cava) (as Dr. Jane Everest); She Married Her Boss (La Cava) (as Julia Scott); The Bride Comes Home (Ruggles) (as Jeanette Desmereau)

1936

Under Two Flags (Lloyd) (as Cigarette)

1937

Maid of Salem (Lloyd) (as Barbara Clarke); I Met Him in Paris (Ruggles) (as Kay Denham); Tovarich (Litvak) (as Grand Duchess Tatiana Petrovna)

1938

Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (Lubitsch) (as Nicole de Loiselle)

1939

Zaza (Cukor) (title role); Midnight (Leisen) (as Eve Peabody/"Baroness Czerny"); It's a Wonderful World (Van Dyke) (as Edwina Corday); Drums along the Mohawk (Ford) (as Lana "Magdelana" Martin)

1940

Boom Town (Conway) (as Betsy Bartlett); Arise My Love (Leisen) (as Augusta Nash)

1941

Skylark (Sandrich) (as Lydia Kenyon); Remember the Day (Henry King) (as Nora Trinell)

1942

The Palm Beach Story (Preston Sturges) (as Gerry Jeffers); Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 6

1943

So Proudly We Hail (Sandrich) (as Lt. Janet Davidson); No Time for Love (Leisen) (as Katherine Grant)

1944

Since You Went Away (Cromwell) (as Anne Hilton); Practically Yours (Leisen) (as Peggy Martin)

1945

Guest Wife (Wood) (as Mary)

1946

Tomorrow Is Forever (Pichel) (as Elizabeth MacDonald Hamilton); Without Reservations (LeRoy) (as Christopher "Kit" Madden); The Secret Heart (Leonard) (as Lee Addams)

1947

The Egg and I (Erskine) (as Betty MacDonald)

1948

Sleep, My Love (Sirk) (as Alison Courtland); Family Honeymoon (Binyon) (as Katie Armstrong Jordan)

1949

Bride for Sale (William D. Russell) (as Nora Shelly)

1950

Three Came Home (Negulesco) (as Agnes Keith); The Secret Fury (Mel Ferrer) (as Ellen)

1951

Thunder on the Hill (Bonaventure) (Sirk) (as Sister Mary Bonaventure); Let's Make It Legal (Sale) (as Miriam Halsworth)

1952

The Planter's Wife (Outpost in Malaya) (Annakin) (as Liz Frazer)

1953

Si Versailles m'était conté (Affairs in Versailles; Royal Affairs in Versailles) (Guitry) (as Mme. de Montespan)

1954

"Elizabeth" ep. of Destinées (Daughters of Destiny; Love, Soldiers and Women; Lysistrata) (Pagliero) (as Elizabeth I)

1955

Texas Lady (Whelan) (as Prudence Webb)

1960

Parrish (Daves) (as Ellen McLean)

1986

Three Came Home (Negulesco—for TV)