1903-09-13 Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France
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.
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Complicated Women | Self (archive footage) | 2003-05-06 |
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Frank Capra Jr. Remembers: 'It Happened One Night' | Self (archive footage) | 1999-12-27 |
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The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender | Self (archive footage) | 1997-11-01 |
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That's Entertainment! III | (archive footage) | 1994-07-01 |
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Parrish | Ellen McLean | 1961-05-04 |
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The Comedian | Self (intro) | 1957-02-14 |
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Blithe Spirit | Ruth Condomine | 1956-01-14 |
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Texas Lady | Prudence Webb | 1955-11-23 |
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Si Versailles m'était conté | Mrs. de Montespan | 1954-02-10 |
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Destinées | Elizabeth Whitefield (segment "Elisabeth") | 1954-01-21 |
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The Planter's Wife | Liz Frazer | 1952-12-04 |
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Thunder on the Hill | Sister Mary Bonaventure | 1951-10-17 |
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Let's Make It Legal | Miriam Halsworth | 1951-10-31 |
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Three Came Home | Agnes Newton Keith | 1950-02-20 |
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The Secret Fury | Ellen Ewing | 1950-02-21 |
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Bride for Sale | Nora Shelley | 1949-11-12 |
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Sleep, My Love | Alison Courtland | 1948-02-18 |
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Family Honeymoon | Katie Armstrong Jordan | 1948-12-06 |
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The Egg and I | Betty MacDonald | 1947-05-01 |
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The Secret Heart | Lee Addams | 1946-12-25 |
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Tomorrow Is Forever | Elizabeth Hamilton | 1946-02-20 |
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Without Reservations | Kit Madden | 1946-05-13 |
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Guest Wife | Mary Price | 1945-07-27 |
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Practically Yours | Peggy Martin | 1944-12-20 |
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Since You Went Away | Mrs. Anne Hilton | 1944-06-30 |
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No Time for Love | Katherine Grant | 1943-04-09 |
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So Proudly We Hail | Lt. Janet 'Davy' Davidson | 1943-09-09 |
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The Palm Beach Story | Geraldine 'Gerry' Jeffers | 1942-08-28 |
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Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood No. 6 | Herself | 1942-10-05 |
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Remember the Day | Nora Trinell | 1941-12-25 |
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Skylark | Lydia Kenyon | 1941-11-21 |
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Arise, My Love | Augusta Nash | 1940-11-08 |
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Hollywood: Style Center of the World | Self | 1940-05-29 |
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Cavalcade of the Academy Awards | Self (archive footage) | 1940-07-31 |
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Boom Town | Betsy Bartlett | 1940-08-30 |
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Drums Along the Mohawk | Lana (Magdelana) | 1939-11-10 |
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It's a Wonderful World | Edwina Corday | 1939-05-19 |
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Midnight | Eve Peabody | 1939-03-24 |
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Zaza | Zaza | 1938-12-29 |
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Bluebeard's Eighth Wife | Nicole De Loiselle | 1938-03-25 |
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Hollywood Goes to Town | Self | 1938-07-07 |
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Breakdowns of 1938 | Tatiana (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1938-12-31 |
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Maid of Salem | Barbara Clarke | 1937-02-12 |
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I Met Him in Paris | Kay Denham | 1937-05-28 |
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Tovarich | Grand Duchess Tatiana Petrovna Romanov | 1937-12-25 |
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Under Two Flags | Cigarette | 1936-04-30 |
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The Fashion Side of Hollywood | Self | 1935-11-04 |
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Private Worlds | Dr. Jane Everest | 1935-04-19 |
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The Gilded Lily | Marilyn David | 1935-01-25 |
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The Bride Comes Home | Jeannette Desmereau | 1935-12-25 |
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She Married Her Boss | Julia Scott | 1935-09-19 |
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It Happened One Night | Ellie Andrews | 1934-02-22 |
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Imitation of Life | Beatrice 'Bea' Pullman | 1934-11-23 |
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Four Frightened People | Judy Jones | 1934-01-26 |
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Cleopatra | Cleopatra | 1934-10-05 |
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I Cover the Waterfront | Julie Kirk | 1933-05-19 |
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Three Cornered Moon | Elizabeth Rimplegar | 1933-08-04 |
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Torch Singer | Sally Trent, aka Mimi Benton | 1933-09-08 |
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Tonight Is Ours | Princess Nadya | 1933-01-21 |
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The Sign of the Cross | Empress Poppaea | 1932-11-30 |
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The Man from Yesterday | Sylvia Suffolk | 1932-06-24 |
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The Misleading Lady | Helen Steele | 1932-04-15 |
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The Phantom President | Felicia Hammond | 1932-09-23 |
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The Wiser Sex | Margaret Hughes | 1932-03-14 |
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Make Me a Star | Claudette Colbert (uncredited) | 1932-07-01 |
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The House That Shadows Built | (archive footage) | 1931-07-08 |
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The Smiling Lieutenant | Franzi | 1931-08-01 |
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Secrets of a Secretary | Helen Blake | 1931-09-05 |
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Honor Among Lovers | Julia Traynor | 1931-03-21 |
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His Woman | Sally Clark | 1931-11-20 |
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The Big Pond | Barbara Billings | 1930-05-03 |
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Manslaughter | Lydia Thorne | 1930-07-22 |
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Young Man of Manhattan | Ann Vaughn | 1930-04-19 |
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The Lady Lies | Joyce Roamer | 1929-09-21 |
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The Hole in the Wall | Jean Oliver | 1929-04-27 |
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For the Love of Mike | Mary | 1927-07-31 |
