Loretta Young, film actress, Hollywood superstar, classic platinum blonde

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

American film actress Loretta Young, Hollywood megastar, was born on January 6, 1913 in S alt Lake City, Utah. Three years later, the family moved to Los Angeles, and this decided the fate of little Gretchen (as the girl was originally called), she began acting in films. For the first time, Loretta Young appeared on the set at the age of four, in the film "Sea Sirens". Her older sisters, Elizabeth and Polly Young also took part in the filming.

First roles and secret wedding

Loretta attended elementary school at a convent, and when she graduated, she decided to become a film actress. She played her first notable role in the film directed by Millard Webb "Cranky but Pretty." Her character - a young Bit Part, was an ordinary girl with a completely predictable character, and the aspiring actress easily coped with her task. After this role, Loretta Young was able to sign a contract with the Warner Film Company. Brothers".

When the actress was seventeen years old, she secretly married Grant Withers, a twenty-five-year-old Hollywood actor. To do this, Loretta Young ran away from home, as her parents were categorically against the hasty marriage of her daughter. A year later, the marriage broke up and was annulled. And the former newlyweds starred in a duet in the film with the symbolic name "Too Young to Marry" Too Young To Marry, directed by Mervyn Leroy. Loretta played the female lead, Ellen Bumstead, while Withers played the male lead, Bill Clark.

Alliance with a married actor

In 1935, the actress met the then sex symbol of America, Hollywood star Clark Gable. The actor was twelve years older than Loretta and, moreover, at that time he was legally married to Maria Langham, his second wife. At first, Loretta Young and Clark Gable met in secret, but in Hollywood, any secrets live only for two or three days, after which they become public. So it happened this time.

However, nothing prevented the development of a tempestuous romance between the two lovers, resulting in the birth of Judy, Clark Gable's first illegitimate child. The birth took place in the strictest secrecy, the truth surfaced many years later, when there was no need to hide anything. Loretta Young and her daughter lived together for a long time, but Judy did not know who her parents were. She was told that she was an adopted child. And only after manyYang Yang admitted that she is her own mother.

First Oscar

The film career for Loretta developed well, in 1947 the actress starred in two main roles at once, the film "The Bishop's Wife" directed by Henry Koster, the role of Julia, and in the film by Codman Potter called "The Farmer's Daughter", the character Catherine Holstrom. Both works of the actress were awarded prizes. She won an Oscar for her role as Katherine. Another "Oscar", but this time only in the form of a nomination, Loretta was awarded for participating in the film "Come to the Stable", where she played the novice sister Margaret.

Best roles

Platinum Blonde directed by Frank Capra, in which Young played one of the main roles, deserves special mention. Her character, journalist Gallagher, is hopelessly in love with her colleague Stu Smith. The object of her adoration, as it were, does not notice the emotional experiences of the girl. And when she persists, Stu Smith tries to retreat. What's more, he decides to marry we althy heiress Ann Skyler, whom he met while reporting on her family.

The role of Gallagher with a dramatic touch demanded from Young full commitment. The actress tried to use all her talent, artistry and the little experience that she managed to accumulate by the age of eighteen. In general, the young actress coped with her task, she managed to create an interesting, integral image.

Ownprogram

Filming Loretta alternated with performances in her own show, which was called "The Loretta Young Show". The program was shown on the NBC television channel. The series aired for eight years and each time before the start, Loretta Young appeared on stage in flowing clothes, as if introducing her show to the public.

Thanks to the series, the actress received three Emmy awards, after which she stopped performing, and in 1963 she finally left show business. To keep herself busy, Loretta Young threw herself into charity through the Catholic Church.

Loretta Young, filmography

During her career, the actress starred in more than a hundred films. The following is a selective list of films in which Young has starred.

• "Platinum Blonde" (1931), character Gallagher.
• "Fortress of Man" (1933), the role of Trina.
• "Midnight Mary" (1933), character Mary Martin.
• "The House of Rothschild" (1934), the role of Julia Rothschild.
• "Born Bad" (1934), the role of Letty Strong.
• "The Crusades" (1935), Berenjaria's character.
• "Metropol Cafe" (1937), the role of Laura Ridgeway.
• "Love is news" (1937), character Tony Gaitson.
• "Kentucky" (1938), the role of Sally Goodwin.
• "Suez" (1938), the character of Countess Eugenie De Montijo.
• "Four Men" (1938), the role of Miss LynnCherington.
• "The Doctor's Marriage" (1940), character June Cameron.
• "Men in her life" (1941), the role of Lina Varsavina.
• "The Farmer's Daughter" (1947), character Katherine Holstrom.
• "The Bishop's Wife" (1947), the role of Julia.
• "The Accused" (1949), character of Professor Wilma Tuttle.
• "Key to the City" (1950), the role of Clarissa Standish.

Many films with the participation of Loretta Young entered the Golden Fund of American cinema. Two stars were unveiled in her honor on the Walk of Fame in Los Angeles. One personal, the other for a significant contribution to American cinema.

One of the most popular film actresses of the middle of the last century, Loretta Young, died on August 12, 2000 from cancer, at the age of eighty-seven. Buried at Culver City Cemetery.