Claudette Colbert

Claudette Colbert
Publicity photo of Claudette Colbert circa 1950
Born
Émilie Chauchoin

(1903-09-13)September 13, 1903
Saint-Mandé, France
DiedJuly 30, 1996(1996-07-30) (aged 92)
Speightstown, Barbados
Resting placeGodings Bay Church Cemetery, Speightstown, Saint Peter, Barbados
13°14′28″N 59°38′32″W / 13.241235°N 59.642320°W / 13.241235; -59.642320
NationalityAmerican French
Other namesLily Chauchoin
EducationWashington Irving High School
Alma materArt Students League of New York
OccupationActress
Years active1924–1987
Known forIt Happened One Night
Cleopatra
The Palm Beach Story
Since You Went Away
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
(m. 1928; div. 1935)
Joel Pressman
(m. 1935; died 1968)
AwardsSee below

Émilie Chauchoin[1] (French: [ʃoʃwɛ̃]; September 13, 1903 – July 30, 1996), professionally known as Claudette Colbert (/klˈbɛər/ kohl-BAIR,[2] French: [kɔlbɛʁ]), was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the late 1920s and progressed to films with the advent of talking pictures. Initially contracted to Paramount Pictures, Colbert became one of the few major actresses of the period who worked freelance, independent of the studio system.

With her Mid-Atlantic accent,[3] witty dialogues, aristocratic demeanor, and flair[4] for light comedy and emotional drama, Colbert's versatility led to her becoming one of the most popular stars of the 1930s and 1940s.[5][2] In all, Colbert starred in more than 60 movies. Among her frequent co-stars were Fred MacMurray, in seven films (1935–1949), and Fredric March, in four films (1930–1933).

She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for It Happened One Night (1934), and received two other Academy Award nominations during her career. Colbert's other notable films include Cleopatra (1934), The Palm Beach Story (1942) and Since You Went Away (1944).

By the mid-1950s, Colbert had turned from motion pictures to television and stage work, earning a Tony Award nomination for The Marriage-Go-Round in 1959. Her career began to wane in the early 1960s. In the late 1970s, she experienced a comeback in the theater. Colbert received a Sarah Siddons Award for her Chicago theater work in 1980. Colbert's television appearance in The Two Mrs. Grenvilles (1987) earned her a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award nomination.

In 1999, the American Film Institute named Colbert the 12th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema.

  1. ^ Archives du Val-de-Marne. "Register of births of Saint-Mandé, 1903-1905, snapshot 48/188, certificate No. 171, Chauchoin Émilie, 14 septembre 1903, légitime". archives.valdemarne.fr. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
    […] Acte de naissance de Chauchoin Émilie, du sexe féminin, née le 13 septembre courant à 8 h du matin au domicile de ses père et mère, rue Armand-Carrel No. 5. Fille de Georges Claude [Chauchoin], âgé de 36 ans, pâtissier, et de Loew Jeanne Marie, son épouse, âgée de 25 ans , sans profession. […].

    Translation of this quotation : "[…] Birth certificate of Chauchoin Émilie, female, born on September 13 running at 8 o'clock in the morning at her father and mother’s home, rue Armand-Carrel No. 5. Daughter of Georges Claude [Chauchoin], aged 36, pastry chef, and Loew Jeanne Marie, his wife, aged 25 [this age here stated and transcribed appears erroneous because it is actually 26 since her mother was born on 27 October 1876], without profession. […]"
  2. ^ a b Pace, Eric (July 31, 1996). "Claudette Colbert, Unflappable Heroine of Screwball Comedies, Is Dead At 92". The New York Times. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference becoming was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference tcmdb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Claudette Colbert – Britannica Concise". Retrieved October 23, 2016.

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