
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.

The Comedian

Blithe Spirit

或る夜の出来事

The Jack Benny Program

Playhouse 90

The Kennedy Center Honors

Midnight

青髭八人目の妻

The Egg and I

Imitation of Life

No Time for Love

She Married Her Boss

Remember the Day

Bride for Sale

That's Entertainment! III

Hollywood Goes to Town

The House That Shadows Built

アカデミー賞

What's My Line?

The Palm Beach Story

Boom Town

The Colgate Comedy Hour

陽気な中尉さん

Complicated Women

Si Versailles m'était conté

Three Came Home

The Gilded Lily

Since You Went Away

モホークの太鼓

Skylark

Cavalcade of the Academy Awards

Letter to Loretta

It's a Wonderful World

General Electric Theater

Arise, My Love

Sleep, My Love

Thunder on the Hill

Frank Capra Jr. Remembers: 'It Happened One Night'

The Secret Heart

Telephone Time

Without Reservations

Tovarich

The Planter's Wife

Tomorrow Is Forever

The Sign of the Cross

クレオパトラ

Under Two Flags

Private Worlds

Manslaughter

The Wiser Sex

The Fashion Side of Hollywood

Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood No. 6

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre

Guest Wife

Four Frightened People

Maid of Salem

Young Man of Manhattan

Suspicion

The Big Pond

Three Cornered Moon

Family Honeymoon

So Proudly We Hail

Honor Among Lovers

Let's Make It Legal

Robert Montgomery Presents

The Steve Allen Show

Make Me a Star

The Phantom President

Secrets of a Secretary

Hollywood: Style Center of the World

The Secret Fury

Texas Lady

I Met Him in Paris

Torch Singer

The Hole in the Wall

Zaza

Parrish

For the Love of Mike

The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender

The Man from Yesterday

I Cover the Waterfront

Breakdowns of 1938

The Lady Lies

The Bride Comes Home

Destinées

The Two Mrs. Grenvilles

Climax!

His Woman

Tonight Is Ours

The Misleading Lady

Practically Yours

One Coat of White

L'énigmatique Monsieur Parkes

Hollywood on Parade No. B-10