Claudette Colbert ~ The Oscar Winning Star

September 13, 2024

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Claudette Colbert was an Oscar winning star whose career spanned six decades

She was born Emilie Claudette Chauchoin September 13, 1903 in Saint Mande, France. Her family moved to New York City in 1906. After high school she studied fashion design at the Art Students League of New York. Her friend, writer Anne Morrison, offered her a small role in a play in 1923. Then she decided to quit school to pursue an acting career. Claudette appeared on Broadway in numerous shows including The Barker, Fast Life, and Tin Pan Alley. She made her film debut in the 1927 silent drama For The Love Of Mike. In 1928 she married actor Norman Foster. The couple never lived together. When she became pregnant she had an abortion because she was worried a child would hurt her career. Her big break came when she was offered a contract at Paramount. Claudette was given featured roles in The Hole In The Wall and The Smiling Lieutenant. Cecil B. DeMille cast her in his 1932 epic The Sign Of The Cross. It was one of the years biggest box-office hits. She won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in the 1934 screwball comedy It Happened One Night. Her success continued with the hit films Cleopatra, She Married Her Boss, and Imitation Of Life. Following a long separation she officially divorced Norman in 1935. Claudette was bisexual and enjoyed a passionate romance with Marlene Dietrich. On December 24, 1935 she married Joel Pressman, a doctor. By this time she had become one of Hollywood’s highest paid actresses and was earning $150,000 a movie.

She was known for her Mid-Atlantic accent and her flair for sophisticated comedy. In 1936 she was nominated for an Academy Award for the drama Private Worlds. Claudette costarred with Fred MacMurray in seven films including The Gilded Lilly, Practically Yours, and The Egg And I. After twelve years at Paramount she decided to leave studio in 1940. Her performance in the 1944 war drama Since You Went Away earned her a third Oscar nomination. She was offered the role of Margo Channing in All About Eve but she turned it down. During the 1950s she appeared on the television shows Colgate Theater and Playhouse 90. Claudette began a serious romance with Verna Hull, a painter, in 1958. Although she remained married to her husband she began living with Verna. She starred in the 1959 Broadway show The Marriage-Go-Round and was nominated for a Tony award. Her husband Joel died in 1968. Shortly before his death she ended her romance with Verna. Claudette divided her time between homes in Manhattan and Barbados. She enjoyed a long term romance with fashion executive Helen O’Hagan. Her final acting role was in 1987 TV miniseries The Two Mrs. Grenvilles. On July 30, 1996 she died following a series of strokes at the age of ninety-two. Claudette was cremated and her ashes are buried at
Godings Bay Church Cemetery in
Speightstown, Barbados.

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