Clara Bow

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Clara Bow
Bow in 1932
Born	Clara Gordon Bow (1905-07-29)July 29, 1905 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died	September 27, 1965(1965-09-27) (aged 60) Culver City, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park
Other names	"The 'It' Girl"
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1921–1947
Spouse	Rex Bell ​ ​ (m. 1931; died 1962)​
Children	2

Clara Gordon Bow (/boʊ/; July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom during the silent film era of the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" in 1929. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the film It brought her global fame and the nickname "The It Girl".^[1] Bow came to personify the Roaring Twenties^[2] and is described as its leading sex symbol.^[3]

Bow appeared in 46 silent films and 11 talkies, including hits such as Mantrap (1926), It (1927), and Wings (1927). She was named first box-office draw in 1928 and 1929 and second box-office draw in 1927 and 1930.^[4][5] Her presence in a motion picture was said to have ensured investors, by odds of almost two-to-one, a "safe return".^[6] At the apex of her stardom, she received more than 45,000 fan letters in a single month, in January 1929.^[7]

Two years after marrying actor Rex Bell in 1931, Bow retired from acting and became a rancher in Nevada.^[8][9][10] Her final film, Hoop-La, was released in 1933. In September 1965, Bow died of a heart attack at the age of 60.