Claudette Colbert
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Sep 13, 1903
- Died
- Jul 30, 1996 (aged 92)
- Place of birth
- Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France
- Credits
- 99
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
It Happened One Night
1934Movie
Ellie Andrews
The Palm Beach Story
1942Movie
Geraldine 'Gerry' Jeffers
Drums Along the Mohawk
1939Movie
Lana (Magdelana)
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife
1938Movie
Nicole De Loiselle
Cleopatra
1934Movie
Cleopatra
Midnight
1939Movie
Eve Peabody
Filmography
Azzedine Alaïa, un couturier français
2022Movie
Self (archive footage)
Complicated Women
2003Movie
Self (archive footage)
Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel
2001Movie
Self (archive footage)
Frank Capra Jr. Remembers: 'It Happened One Night'
1999Movie
Self (archive footage)
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
1997Movie
Self (archive footage)
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
1995Movie
Self (archive footage)
That's Entertainment! III
1994Movie
(archive footage) (uncredited)
The Two Mrs. Grenvilles
1987TV
Alice Grenville
Marilyn Monroe
1986Movie
archive footage
The Kennedy Center Honors
1978TV
Self
Parrish
1961Movie
Ellen McLean
Suspicion
1957TV
Edith Miller
One Coat of White
1957Movie
Betsy Gregg
The Comedian
1957Movie
Self (intro)
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956TV
Lucy Bradford, Beth Brayden
Playhouse 90
1956TV
The Steve Allen Show
1956TV
Self, Self - Party Host
Telephone Time
1956TV
Blithe Spirit
1956Movie
Ruth Condomine
Texas Lady
1955Movie
Prudence Webb
Climax!
1954TV
Dr. Jane Everest, Sister Cecilia
Daughters of Destiny
1954Movie
Elizabeth Whitefield (segment "Elisabeth")
Royal Affairs in Versailles
1953Movie
Mrs. de Montespan
Letter to Loretta
1953TV
Self - Guest Host
The Oscars
1953TV
Self
General Electric Theater
1953TV
Edith Miller
The Planter's Wife
1952Movie
Liz Frazer
Let's Make It Legal
1951Movie
Miriam Halsworth
Thunder on the Hill
1951Movie
Sister Mary Bonaventure
The Jack Benny Program
1950TV
Claudette Colbert
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1950TV
Self
The Secret Fury
1950Movie
Ellen Ewing
Three Came Home
1950Movie
Agnes Newton Keith
What's My Line?
1950TV
Self
Robert Montgomery Presents
1950TV
Bride for Sale
1949Movie
Nora Shelley
Family Honeymoon
1948Movie
Katie Armstrong Jordan
Sleep, My Love
1948Movie
Alison Courtland
The Egg and I
1947Movie
Betty MacDonald
The Secret Heart
1946Movie
Lee Addams
Without Reservations
1946Movie
Kit Madden
Tomorrow Is Forever
1946Movie
Elizabeth Hamilton
Guest Wife
1945Movie
Mary Price
Practically Yours
1944Movie
Peggy Martin
Since You Went Away
1944Movie
Anne Hilton
So Proudly We Hail
1943Movie
Lt. Janet 'Davy' Davidson
No Time for Love
1943Movie
Katherine Grant
Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood No. 6
1942Movie
Self
The Palm Beach Story
1942Movie
Geraldine 'Gerry' Jeffers
Remember the Day
1941Movie
Nora Trinell
Skylark
1941Movie
Lydia Kenyon
Arise, My Love
1940Movie
Augusta Nash
Boom Town
1940Movie
Betsy Bartlett
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
1940Movie
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
1940Movie
Self
Drums Along the Mohawk
1939Movie
Lana (Magdelana)
It's a Wonderful World
1939Movie
Edwina Corday
Midnight
1939Movie
Eve Peabody
Zaza
1939Movie
Zaza
Breakdowns of 1938
1938Movie
Tatiana (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hollywood Goes to Town
1938Movie
Self
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife
1938Movie
Nicole De Loiselle
Tovarich
1937Movie
Grand Duchess Tatiana Petrovna Romanov
I Met Him in Paris
1937Movie
Kay Denham
Maid of Salem
1937Movie
Barbara Clarke
Under Two Flags
1936Movie
Cigarette
The Bride Comes Home
1935Movie
Jeannette Desmereau
The Fashion Side of Hollywood
1935Movie
Self - Marilyn David (archive footage)
She Married Her Boss
1935Movie
Julia Scott
Private Worlds
1935Movie
Dr. Jane Everest
The Gilded Lily
1935Movie
Marilyn David
Imitation of Life
1934Movie
Beatrice 'Bea' Pullman
Cleopatra
1934Movie
Cleopatra
Hollywood on Parade No. B-10
1934Movie
Self
It Happened One Night
1934Movie
Ellie Andrews
Four Frightened People
1934Movie
Judy Jones
Torch Singer
1933Movie
Sally Trent, aka Mimi Benton
Three Cornered Moon
1933Movie
Elizabeth Rimplegar
I Cover the Waterfront
1933Movie
Julie Kirk
Tonight Is Ours
1933Movie
Princess Nadya
The Sign of the Cross
1932Movie
Empress Poppaea
The Phantom President
1932Movie
Felicia Hammond
Make Me a Star
1932Movie
Claudette Colbert (uncredited)
The Man from Yesterday
1932Movie
Sylvia Suffolk
The Misleading Lady
1932Movie
Helen Steele
The Wiser Sex
1932Movie
Margaret Hughes
His Woman
1931Movie
Sally Clark
Secrets of a Secretary
1931Movie
Helen Blake
The Smiling Lieutenant
1931Movie
Franzi
The House That Shadows Built
1931Movie
(archive footage)
Honor Among Lovers
1931Movie
Julia Traynor
The Lottery Bride
1930Movie
Jenny
Mysterious Mr. Parkes
1930Movie
Lucy Stavrin
Manslaughter
1930Movie
Lydia Thorne
The Big Pond
1930Movie
Barbara Billings
Young Man of Manhattan
1930Movie
Ann Vaughn
The Lady Lies
1929Movie
Joyce Roamer
The Hole in the Wall
1929Movie
Jean Oliver
For the Love of Mike
1927Movie
Mary