Claudette Colbert

Also Known As: Emilie Claudette Chauchoin, Клодетт Кольбер

Biography: 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.

Department: Acting

Place of Birth: Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France

Birthday: September 13, 1903

Deathday: July 30, 1996

Adult: No

Gender: Female

Popularity:

2.60%

Known For:

It Happened One Night
The Smiling Lieutenant
Let's Make It Legal
Midnight
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife
No Time for Love
The Palm Beach Story
Without Reservations
I Cover the Waterfront
Parrish
The Egg and I
Since You Went Away
Tovarich
Four Frightened People
Cleopatra
Tomorrow Is Forever
The Lady Lies
It's a Wonderful World
Imitation of Life
Royal Affairs in Versailles
She Married Her Boss
The Sign of the Cross
Torch Singer
Drums Along the Mohawk
Three-Cornered Moon
The Gilded Lily
The Secret Fury
Sleep, My Love
Boom Town
Maid of Salem
Remember the Day
Under Two Flags
Thunder on the Hill
Skylark
Three Came Home
Family Honeymoon
The Hole in the Wall
Private Worlds
The Bride Comes Home
So Proudly We Hail
Arise, My Love
Guest Wife
I Met Him in Paris
Honor Among Lovers
Frank Capra Jr. Remembers: 'It Happened One Night'
Make Me a Star
Manslaughter
The Phantom President
Tonight Is Ours
Texas Lady
The Misleading Lady
Practically Yours
Secrets of a Secretary
The Man from Yesterday
The Planter's Wife
Young Man of Manhattan
Zaza
The Big Pond
His Woman
The Secret Heart
Bride for Sale
For the Love of Mike
Blithe Spirit
Daughters of Destiny
The Wiser Sex
The Fashion Side of Hollywood
That's Entertainment! III
Breakdowns of 1938
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood No. 6
Complicated Women
Hollywood Goes to Town
The House That Shadows Built
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender