Claudette Colbert

Young years

Claudette Colbert, nee Emily Claudette Chauchoin ( fr. Émilie Claudette Chauchoin ), she was born on September 13, 1903 in France, in the French town of Saint-Manda, region of Ильle-de-France . Her father is a banker, Georges Claude, her mother was a pastry chef, Jeanne Low Shoshuan. Colbert also had an older brother, Charles Auguste Shoshuan (1898–1971). English was also used in the family along with French, thanks to Claudette's grandmother, Marie Augustine Leva, who has French-English roots. Her parents immigrated to New York in 1906, when Lilly was three years old, where Claudette graduated from Irving School in the city of Washington . Her English teacher, Alice Rossetter, helped her get rid of a small speech impediment, and then invited her to take part in an audition for a theatrical production. At the age of 14, Claudette performed her first role in the play The Widow Veil on the stage of the Provincetown Playhouse.

After graduating from school, Colbert goes to study in the League of Students of Art, as a stenographer, and at the same time goes to work in a clothing store to have something to pay for training. At first, the girl dreams of a career as a fashion designer, she draws well, but, visiting a lecture by playwright Enne Morrison, she seriously thinks about the career of an actress. After one informal party, Morrison invites her to play one of the roles in his play “Wild Wescottes,” a performance shown on the Broadway stage in 1923. The girl will begin to perform under the stage name Claudette Colbert only in 1925. The surname Colbert was not chosen by chance, this is the real name of her maternal grandmother. Claudette’s brother, Charles Wendling, worked for many years as an agent and manager of the actress.

Career

In the 1920s, she began working on Broadway . The period of the Great Depression in America was marked by the fact that many theaters on Broadway closed, and then Claudette decides to act in films. Claudette made her film debut in Frank Capra 's film "For No Carriage" (1927). However, the first cinematic work of the actress was not successful. Moreover, failures haunted the girl at every step, because of which she began to have severe depression, and she was going to leave the movie. But in 1929, the life of the actress turned the other way. She starred in the film "Lady Lies", which brought her overwhelming success.

After the film “Lady Lies” (1929), where her character, a saleswoman, charmed by a man much older than her, Claudette starred in the equally successful “Love and Honor” (1931), where she played a secretary in love with her boss. Colber's appearance over the years is a fatal woman, with black, short-cut hair and accentuated makeup. This refers to her work by Cecil De Mill : the role of Empress Poppea in The Sign of the Cross (1932), where the nude actress bathed in milk, or the role of the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra in Cleopatra (1934).

She also worked at Paramount Pictures , where after some time she became one of the most popular actresses in the USA. In 1935, Colbert received an Academy Award for his role in the comedy film "It Happened One Night." In other years, Claudette was twice nominated for this award for her other works - roles in the dramatic films “Private Worlds” in 1936 and “Ever Since You Left” in 1945.

After 1934, her image changed - now she is blonde, she acts as model wives and housewives. Colbert starred primarily on Paramount Pictures , eventually becoming one of the highest paid actresses in the United States. Her most striking and famous remains the role of the spoiled heiress Ellie Andrews in the funny comedy Frank Capra " It happened one night " (1935), for which she received an Oscar .

By the end of the 1950s, her film career began to decline. Therefore, at this time, Claudette Colbert decided to slightly reduce her shooting schedule, as she was tired of constant filming and decided to devote more time to herself and her relatives. In 1961, she last appeared on the big screen in the movie Parrish. After that, she continued her career on theatrical stages in England and the USA, and also appeared on television a couple of times. In 1971, the brother of the actress, Charles Wendling, dies.

Personal life

Claudette was married twice. For the first time in 1928, the actress married Norman Foster, an actor and director who participated with her in the Broadway production of Barker. This marriage was unusual at the time. They lived separately, justifying this by the fact that the mother of the actress did not like her son-in-law. Claudette lived with her mother, and mother forbade Foster to appear in their house. In 1935, unable to withstand such a relationship, the actors divorced. In the same year, Colbert marries again. This time for Los Angeles surgeon Joel Pressman. With Joel Claudette, married for 33 years. In 1968, Pressman suddenly died of liver cancer.

After her husband’s death, ceasing to act in films and performing on stage, the actress moves to live in Barbados , in the city of Spitestown , where she lives until her death. Claudette Colbert died on July 30, 1996, after several strokes , at the age of 92. The actress was buried there, in Barbados, the city cemetery of Spitestown, St. Peter's Church. Claudette had no children. The actress bequeathed her property to her friend Helen O'Hagen, who took care of her for the last three years of her life

Colbert was awarded the Sarah Siddons Society Theater Award, Kennedy Center Creative Award.

For her contribution to the movie, Claudet Colbert was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard, 6812. In 1999, she was included in the list of 100 greatest movie stars according to AFI number 12.

• 1927 - For the Love of Mike
• 1929 - The Lady Lies
• 1931 - Honor Among Lovers
• 1931 - The Smiling Lieutenant
• 1932 - The Sign of the Cross
• 1933 - Night Singer (Sentimental Singer) / Torch Singer
• 1934 - Four Frightened People
• 1934 - Imitation of Life
• 1934 - It Happened One Night
• 1934 - Cleopatra / Cleopatra
• 1935 - Private Worlds
• 1935 - She married the boss / She Married Her Boss
• 1938 - Bluebeard's Eighth Wife
• 1939 - Zaza
• 1939 - Drums of the Mohawk Valley / Drums Along the Mohawk
• 1939 - It's a Wonderful World
• 1940 - Boom Town
• 1940 - Sunday , My Love / Arise, My Love
• 1943 - Through Pride, Anguish, and Loss / So Proudly We Hail!
• 1944 - Since You Went Away / Since You Went Away
• 1945 - The Coming Wife / Guest Wife
• 1946 - The Secret Heart
• 1947 - The Loser and I / The Egg and I
• 1948 - Sleep, My Love
• 1949 - Bride for Sale / Bride for Sale
• 1950 - The Secret Fury
• 1951 - Let's Make It Legal
• 1952 - The Planter's Wife
• 1954 - Destinies / Destinées
• 1954 - Secrets of Versailles / Si Versailles m'était conté
• 1961 - Parrish

Rewards

• 1935 - Academy Award - Best Actress for the film " It Happened One Night "
• 1988 - Golden Globe Award - Best Supporting Actress in a mini-series, television series or television movie, for the television film “Two Mrs. Granville”

Nominations

• 1936 - Oscar - Best Actress for the film Private Worlds
• 1945 - Oscar Award - Best Actress for the movie Ever Since You Left
• 1987 - Emmy Award - Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Mini Series or Television Movie, for the television film Two Mrs. Granville