Claudette Colbert
Acting
Born: September 13, 1903 · Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France
Died: July 30, 1996 (aged 92)
Highest Rated
Biography
Claudette Colbert (September 13, 1903 — July 30, 1996) was an American actress. Born Emilie Claudette Chauchoin in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France, she was brought to the United States as a child three years later and went to high school in New York. While 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
It Happened One Night
1934
The Palm Beach Story
1942
Drums Along the Mohawk
1939
Bluebeard's 8th Wife
1938
Cleopatra
1934
Midnight
1939
Imitation of Life
1934
The Oscars
1953
The Smiling Lieutenant
1931
Boom Town
1940
Since You Went Away
1944
Sleep, My Love
1948
Photos (13)
Movies (70)
It Happened One Night
Ellie Andrews
That's Entertainment! III
(archive footage) (uncredited)
Drums Along the Mohawk
Lana (Magdelana)
It's a Wonderful World
Edwina Corday
Cleopatra
Cleopatra
Guest Wife
Mary Price
The Palm Beach Story
Geraldine 'Gerry' Jeffers
The Sign of the Cross
Empress Poppaea
Bluebeard's 8th Wife
Nicole De Loiselle
The Phantom President
Felicia Hammond
So Proudly We Hail
Lt. Janet 'Davy' Davidson
Boom Town
Betsy Bartlett
Imitation of Life
Beatrice 'Bea' Pullman
Since You Went Away
Anne Hilton
Let's Make It Legal
Miriam Halsworth
Parrish
Ellen McLean
Royal Affairs in Versailles
Mrs. de Montespan
Without Reservations
Kit Madden
The Gilded Lily
Marilyn David
Midnight
Eve Peabody
Family Honeymoon
Katie Armstrong Jordan
Arise, My Love
Augusta Nash
The Secret Fury
Ellen Ewing
Sleep, My Love
Alison Courtland
Texas Lady
Prudence Webb
Tomorrow Is Forever
Elizabeth Hamilton
Remember the Day
Nora Trinell
Bride for Sale
Nora Shelley
The Egg and I
Betty MacDonald
Under Two Flags
Cigarette
Manslaughter
Lydia Thorne
His Woman
Sally Clark
The Smiling Lieutenant
Franzi
Thunder on the Hill
Sister Mary Bonaventure
No Time for Love
Katherine Grant
The Big Pond
Barbara Billings
The Secret Heart
Lee Addams
Tovarich
Grand Duchess Tatiana Petrovna Romanov
Daughters of Destiny
Elizabeth Whitefield (segment "Elisabeth")
Maid of Salem
Barbara Clarke
Zaza
Zaza
The Planter's Wife
Liz Frazer
Torch Singer
Sally Trent, aka Mimi Benton
The Man from Yesterday
Sylvia Suffolk
She Married Her Boss
Julia Scott
The House That Shadows Built
(archive footage)
Three Came Home
Agnes Newton Keith
Breakdowns of 1938
Tatiana (archive footage) (uncredited)
Blithe Spirit
Ruth Condomine
Three Cornered Moon
Elizabeth Rimplegar
Practically Yours
Peggy Martin
I Met Him in Paris
Kay Denham
The Wiser Sex
Margaret Hughes
Secrets of a Secretary
Helen Blake
Four Frightened People
Judy Jones
One Coat of White
Betsy Gregg
The Misleading Lady
Helen Steele
Make Me a Star
Claudette Colbert (uncredited)
Skylark
Lydia Kenyon
The Bride Comes Home
Jeannette Desmereau
Honor Among Lovers
Julia Traynor
Private Worlds
Dr. Jane Everest
Tonight Is Ours
Princess Nadya
Mysterious Mr. Parkes
Lucy Stavrin
Young Man of Manhattan
Ann Vaughn
Marilyn Monroe
archive footage
The Hole in the Wall
Jean Oliver
I Cover the Waterfront
Julie Kirk
The Lady Lies
Joyce Roamer
For the Love of Mike
Mary
TV Shows (12)
Robert Montgomery Presents
1 eps
Climax!
1 eps
Climax!
Dr. Jane Everest · 1 eps
Climax!
Sister Cecilia · 1 eps
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Lucy Bradford · 1 eps
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Beth Brayden · 1 eps
Telephone Time
1 eps
The Jack Benny Program
Claudette Colbert · 1 eps
Playhouse 90
1 eps
Suspicion
Edith Miller · 1 eps
General Electric Theater
Edith Miller · 2 eps
The Two Mrs. Grenvilles
Alice Grenville · 2 eps
Self / Appearances (20)
The Oscars
Self · 1 eps
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Self · 1 eps
What's My Line?
Self · 2 eps
The Steve Allen Show
Self · 2 eps
The Steve Allen Show
Self - Party Host · 1 eps
The Kennedy Center Honors
Self · 1 eps
Letter to Loretta
Self - Guest Host · 1 eps
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
Self (archive footage)
The Comedian
Self (intro)
Azzedine Alaïa, un couturier français
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
Self
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Goes to Town
Self
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
Self (archive footage)
Complicated Women
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood on Parade No. B-10
Self
Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel
Self (archive footage)
Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood No. 6
Herself
The Fashion Side of Hollywood
Self
Frank Capra Jr. Remembers: 'It Happened One Night'
Self (archive footage)