Claudette Colbert
Émilie Chauchoin (French pronunciation: [ʃoʃwɛ̃]; September 13, 1903 – July 30, 1996), professionally known as Claudette Colbert (/koʊlˈbɛər/ kohl-BAIR, French: [kɔlbɛʁ]), was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the late 1920s and progressed to films with the advent of talking pictures. Initially contracted to Paramount Pictures, Colbert became one of the few major actresses of the period who worked freelance, independent of the studio system.
Claudette Colbert | |
|---|---|
Publicity photo of Claudette Colbert circa 1950 | |
| Born | Émilie Chauchoin September 13, 1903 Saint-Mandé, France |
| Died | July 30, 1996 (aged 92) Speightstown, Barbados |
| Resting place | Godings Bay Church Cemetery, Speightstown, Saint Peter, Barbados 13.241235°N 59.642320°W |
| Nationality | American French |
| Other names | Lily Chauchoin |
| Education | Washington Irving High School |
| Alma mater | Art Students League of New York |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1924–1987 |
| Known for | It Happened One Night Cleopatra The Palm Beach Story Since You Went Away |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouses | Norman Foster
(m. 1928; div. 1935)Joel Pressman
(m. 1935; died 1968) |
| Awards | See below |
With her Mid-Atlantic accent, witty dialogues, aristocratic demeanor, and flair for light comedy and emotional drama, Colbert's versatility led to her becoming one of the most popular stars of the 1930s and 1940s. In all, Colbert starred in more than 60 movies. Among her frequent co-stars were Fred MacMurray, in seven films (1935–1949), and Fredric March, in four films (1930–1933).
She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for It Happened One Night (1934), and received two other Academy Award nominations during her career. Colbert's other notable films include Cleopatra (1934), The Palm Beach Story (1942) and Since You Went Away (1944).
By the mid-1950s, Colbert had turned from motion pictures to television and stage work, earning a Tony Award nomination for The Marriage-Go-Round in 1959. Her career began to wane in the early 1960s. In the late 1970s, she experienced a comeback in the theater. Colbert received a Sarah Siddons Award for her Chicago theater work in 1980. Colbert's television appearance in The Two Mrs. Grenvilles (1987) earned her a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award nomination.
In 1999, the American Film Institute named Colbert the 12th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema.