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