Jean Arthur
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- October 17, 1900
- Died
- June 19, 1991 (aged 90)
- Birthplace
- Plattsburgh, New York, USA
Biography
Jean Arthur (born Gladys Georgianna Greene; October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American actress celebrated as one of the defining screen personalities of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Known for her quick wit, expressive voice, and understated charm, she became one of the era’s most beloved comedic leading ladies, especially in the screwball comedy genre. Film historian James Harvey noted that “no one was more closely identified with the screwball comedy than Jean Arthur,” and her work remains central to the style’s legacy. Arthur rose to prominence in the mid‑1930s and became best known for her collaborations with director Frank Capra, starring in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), You Can’t Take It with You (1938), and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). These films cemented her image as the relatable, spirited heroine of Depression‑era American cinema. She earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her performance in The More the Merrier (1943). Although she famously disliked the pressures of Hollywood and often retreated from public life, Arthur continued to work selectively after the 1940s. She delivered a memorable dramatic turn as Marian Starrett in George Stevens’ classic Western Shane (1953). She later returned to acting on television, appearing in a 1965 episode of Gunsmoke and starring in the 1966 sitcom The Jean Arthur Show. After leaving acting, Arthur taught drama at Vassar College and the North Carolina School of the Arts, where students remembered her as a passionate and generous instructor. She lived a largely private life in her later years and died in 1991 at the age of 90.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Becoming Cary Grant
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Frank Capra Jr. Remembers... You Can't Take It with You
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Clara Bow: Discovering the "It" Girl
Movie · as Self (from The Saturday Night Kid [1929]) (archive footage)
Gary Cooper: The Face of a Hero
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey
Movie · as (archive footage)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
Movie · as (archive footage)
The Jean Arthur Show
TV · 12 eps
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
Movie · as Self - Actress 'Gone with the Wind' screen test (archive footage) (uncredited)
Gunsmoke
TV · as Julie Blane · 1 ep
Shane
Movie · as Marian Starrett
Yesterday and Today
Movie · as (archive footage)
A Foreign Affair
Movie · as Congresswoman Phoebe Frost
The Impatient Years
Movie · as Janie Anderson
A Lady Takes a Chance
Movie · as Molly J. Truesdale
The More the Merrier
Movie · as Constance Milligan
The Talk of the Town
Movie · as Nora Shelley
The Devil and Miss Jones
Movie · as Mary Jones
Arizona
Movie · as Phoebe Titus
Too Many Husbands
Movie · as Vicky Lowndes
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Movie · as Clarissa Saunders
Only Angels Have Wings
Movie · as Bonnie Lee
Screen Snapshots Series 19, No. 1
Movie · as Self
You Can't Take It with You
Movie · as Alice Sycamore
Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 12
Movie · as Jean Arthur
History Is Made at Night
Movie · as Irene Vail
Easy Living
Movie · as Mary Smith
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Movie · as Babe Bennett
The Plainsman
Movie · as Calamity Jane
The Ex-Mrs. Bradford
Movie · as Paula Bradford
Adventure in Manhattan
Movie · as Claire Peyton
More Than a Secretary
Movie · as Carol Baldwin
Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)
Movie · as Self
Public Hero Number 1
Movie · as Maria Theresa 'Terry' O'Reilly
The Whole Town's Talking
Movie · as Wilhelmina 'Bill' Clark
If You Could Only Cook
Movie · as Joan Hawthorne
Party Wire
Movie · as Marge Oliver
The Public Menace
Movie · as Cassie Nicholls
Diamond Jim
Movie · as Jane Matthews / Emma
Most Precious Thing in Life
Movie · as Ellen Holmes, aka Biddy, Babe
The Defense Rests
Movie · as Joan Hayes
Whirlpool
Movie · as Sandy
The Past of Mary Holmes
Movie · as Joan Hoyt
Get That Venus
Movie · as Margaret Rendleby
Danger Lights
Movie · as Mary Ryan
The Lawyer's Secret
Movie · as Beatrice Stevens
Ex-Bad Boy
Movie · as Ethel Simmons
The Gang Buster
Movie · as Sylvia Martine
Virtuous Husband
Movie · as Barbara Olwell
The Silver Horde
Movie · as Mildred Wayland
Street of Chance
Movie · as Judith Marsden
The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu
Movie · as Lia Eltham
Young Eagles
Movie · as Mary Gordon
Paramount on Parade
Movie · as Dream Girl
The Canary Murder Case
Movie · as Alice LaFosse
The Greene Murder Case
Movie · as Ada Greene
The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu
Movie · as Lia Eltham
The Saturday Night Kid
Movie · as Janie Barry
Half Way to Heaven
Movie · as Greta Nelson
Stairs of Sand
Movie · as Ruth Hutt
Brotherly Love
Movie · as Mary
Warming Up
Movie · as Mary Post
Wallflowers
Movie · as Sandra
Sins of the Fathers
Movie · as Mary Spengler
Flying Luck
Movie · as The Girl
The Poor Nut
Movie · as Margie Blake
Winners of the Wilderness
Movie · as Bit Role (uncredited)
Horse Shoes
Movie · as Miss Baker
The Broken Gate
Movie · as Ruth Hale
Husband Hunters
Movie · as Lettie Crane
Hello Lafayette
Movie
The Masked Menace
Movie · as Faith Newton
Bigger and Better Blondes
Movie · as Ramona
The Block Signal
Movie · as Grace Ryan
The Cowboy Cop
Movie · as Virginia Selby
Ridin' Rivals
Movie · as Ruth Burroghs
Eight-Cylinder Bull
Movie
Born to Battle
Movie · as Eunice Morgan
Lightning Bill
Movie · as Marie Denton
The Fighting Cheat
Movie · as Ruth Wells
Double Daring
Movie · as Marie Wells
Twisted Triggers
Movie · as Ruth Regan
The Roaring Rider
Movie · as Mary Watkins
Under Fire
Movie · as Margaret Cranston
The Mad Racer
Movie
The College Boob
Movie · as Angela Boothby
The Iron Horse
Movie · as Reporter (uncredited)
Seven Chances
Movie · as Miss Smith the Country Club Receptionist (uncredited)
The Drug Store Cowboy
Movie · as Jean
Tearin' Loose
Movie · as Sally Harris
The Fighting Smile
Movie · as Rose Craddock
Thundering Through
Movie · as Ruth Burroughs
The Hurricane Horseman
Movie · as June Mathews
A Man of Nerve
Movie · as Loria Gatlin
Wine of Youth
Movie · as Flapper
Bringin' Home the Bacon
Movie · as Nancy Norton
Fast and Fearless
Movie · as Mary Brown
Travelin' Fast
Movie · as Betty Conway
The Powerful Eye
Movie · as Dud's Sweetheart
Case Dismissed
Movie · as Jean
Thundering Romance
Movie · as Mary Watkins
Biff Bang Buddy
Movie · as Bonnie Norton
Cameo Kirby
Movie · as Ann Playdell
Somebody Lied
Movie
Spring Fever
Movie
Monks a la mode
Movie · as Madame Maxine