Claudette Colbert Biography

One of the most successful actresses of the Golden Era of Hollywood, Claudette Colbert was a French born lady who had immigrated to America as a child. Artistic and talented as a little girl, she wanted to become a painter. During high school she made her stage debut though she still harbored the dreams of becoming a painter. By the time she was a young woman she decided to become a fashion designer though fate had other plans for her. Young and pretty, she was offered a role in a Broadway play and soon found herself signing a long-term contract. Along with her beautiful looks she was also blessed with great acting skills that made her a much-sought after Broadway actress. She loved the stage and was not much excited about acting in movies as she believed that the stage allowed a greater freedom for her artistic expressions. However, she had to consider movie roles after the depression during which her theatre career began to falter. The era of talkies provided her the opportunity to use her best asset—her lovely, silken voice—on screen. Initially she was afraid of being typecast as the “French Girl” and worked hard to experiment with different types of roles to avoid being stereotyped.