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.
It Happened One Night
(Ellie Andrews)
The Smiling Lieutenant
(Franzi)
Let's Make It Legal
(Miriam Halsworth)
Midnight
(Eve Peabody)
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife
(Nicole De Loiselle)
No Time for Love
(Katherine Grant)
The Palm Beach Story
(Geraldine 'Gerry' Jeffers)
Without Reservations
(Kit Madden)
I Cover the Waterfront
(Julie Kirk)
Parrish
(Ellen McLean)
The Egg and I
(Betty MacDonald)
Since You Went Away
(Mrs. Anne Hilton)
Tovarich
(Grand Duchess Tatiana Petrovna Romanov)
Four Frightened People
(Judy Jones)
Cleopatra
(Cleopatra)
Tomorrow Is Forever
(Elizabeth Hamilton)
The Lady Lies
(Joyce Roamer)
It's a Wonderful World
(Edwina Corday)
Imitation of Life
(Beatrice 'Bea' Pullman)
Royal Affairs in Versailles
(Mme de Montespan)
She Married Her Boss
(Julia Scott)
The Sign of the Cross
(Empress Poppaea)
Torch Singer
(Sally Trent, aka Mimi Benton)
Drums Along the Mohawk
(Lana (Magdelana))
Three-Cornered Moon
(Elizabeth Rimplegar)
The Gilded Lily
(Marilyn David)
The Secret Fury
(Ellen Ewing)
Sleep, My Love
(Alison Courtland)
Boom Town
(Betsy Bartlett)
Maid of Salem
(Barbara Clarke)
Remember the Day
(Nora Trinell)
Under Two Flags
(Cigarette)
Thunder on the Hill
(Sister Mary Bonaventure)
Skylark
(Lydia Kenyon)
Three Came Home
(Agnes Newton Keith)
Family Honeymoon
(Katie Armstrong Jordan)
The Hole in the Wall
(Jean Oliver)
Private Worlds
(Dr. Jane Everest)
The Bride Comes Home
(Jeannette Desmereau)
So Proudly We Hail
(Lt. Janet 'Davy' Davidson)
Arise, My Love
(Augusta Nash)
Guest Wife
(Mary Price)
I Met Him in Paris
(Kay Denham)
Honor Among Lovers
(Julia Traynor)
Frank Capra Jr. Remembers: 'It Happened One Night'
(Self (archive footage))
Make Me a Star
(Claudette Colbert (uncredited))
Manslaughter
(Lydia Thorne)
The Phantom President
(Felicia Hammond)
Tonight Is Ours
(Princess Nadya)
Texas Lady
(Prudence Webb)
The Misleading Lady
(Helen Steele)
Practically Yours
(Peggy Martin)
Secrets of a Secretary
(Helen Blake)
The Man from Yesterday
(Sylvia Suffolk)
The Planter's Wife
(Liz Frazer)
Young Man of Manhattan
(Ann Vaughn)
Zaza
(Zaza)
The Big Pond
(Barbara Billings)
His Woman
(Sally Clark)
The Secret Heart
(Lee Addams)
Bride for Sale
(Nora Shelley)
For the Love of Mike
(Mary)
Blithe Spirit
(Ruth Condomine)
Daughters of Destiny
(Elizabeth Whitefield (segment "Elisabeth"))
The Wiser Sex
(Margaret Hughes)
The Fashion Side of Hollywood
(Self)
That's Entertainment! III
((archive footage))
Breakdowns of 1938
(Tatiana (archive footage) (uncredited))
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
(Self (archive footage))
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
(Self)
Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood No. 6
(Herself)
Complicated Women
(Self (archive footage))
Hollywood Goes to Town
(Self)
The Love Goddesses
((archive footage))
The House That Shadows Built
((archive footage))
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
(Self (archive footage))
The Colgate Comedy Hour
(Self)
General Electric Theater
(Edith Miller)
Climax!
Robert Montgomery Presents
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
(Lucy Bradford)
The Steve Allen Show
(Self - Guest)
The Jack Benny Program
(Claudette Colbert)
Telephone Time
The Oscars
(Self)
The Kennedy Center Honors
(Self)
Letter to Loretta
(Self - Guest Host)
The Two Mrs. Grenvilles
(Alice Grenville)
Playhouse 90
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
(Beth Brayden)
The Ed Sullivan Show
(Self (archive footage))
Climax!
(Dr. Jane Everest)
Climax!
(Sister Cecilia)
The Steve Allen Show
(Self - Party Host)
What's My Line?
(Self - Mystery Guest)
Suspicion
(Edith Miller)