---
name: "Claudette Colbert"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/claudette-colbert"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "13 September 1903"
died: "30 July 1996"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T11:39:16.372377+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Claudette Colbert

Actor. Born 13 September 1903 in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France. Died 30 July 1996.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 13 September 1903, Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France
- **Died:** 30 July 1996
- **Also known as:** Emilie Claudette Chauchoin, Клодетт Кольбер

## Fi1m on Claudette Colbert

> Claudette Colbert can listen to a man explaining himself and make his confidence look faintly absurd. We value her sharp comic judgement, particularly when a film expects its heroine to be grateful for the instruction.

Claudette Colbert listens to Clark Gable dispensing advice in *It Happened One Night* (1934), and makes us watch the person being instructed. Her Ellie Andrews is entitled, but quick enough to recognise how much Gable’s Peter Warne enjoys his own expertise. We laughed at his self-satisfaction, then grew impatient for her to interrupt him. Colbert makes that impatience part of the pleasure: Ellie has her own opinion, and we want to hear it. Frank Capra trusts their conversation to hold us, and Colbert gives us good reason to keep listening.

Cecil B. DeMille’s *Cleopatra* (1934) belongs to the same breakthrough year, putting the comic actress in a historical spectacle. Through the 1930s and 1940s she alternated comedy and drama rather than settling for one kind of leading role. *The Palm Beach Story* (1942), with Preston Sturges, continued the sophisticated comedy; *Since You Went Away* (1944) drew on her warmth and restraint as Anne Hilton. These are useful companions to Ellie, who can otherwise come to stand for too much of her work. The move towards stage and television from the mid-1950s followed that sustained variety.

Colbert’s velvety voice and aristocratic manner are useful comic tools: a character can sound assured while still being wrong. She lets Ellie remain entitled, rather than asking us to forgive everything because the heroine is charming. That makes the attraction more interesting, since neither performer needs to make their character entirely sensible for us to enjoy their company. Gable supplies the confidence; Colbert makes us notice when it has become self-indulgence.

That does not excuse everything around her. Capra’s comedy sometimes accepts Peter’s bossiness as wisdom, and the suggestion that a wealthy woman needs a capable man to improve her has worn poorly. Colbert’s resistance keeps those moments alive, but the unequal expectations remain, however much we enjoy the actors. Start with *It Happened One Night* for her watchfulness and their conversation, provided a man explaining how the world works will not ruin the evening.

## Biography

Claudette Colbert was an American actress. Born Emilie Claudette Chauchoin in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France, on 13 September 1903, she moved with her family to New York City around 1910. She studied fashion design before making her Broadway debut in *The Wild Westcotts* (1923) under the stage name Claudette Colbert.

Her early stage work included *The Barker* (1927). She made her film debut in the silent *For the Love of Mike* (1927). Colbert received the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Ellie Andrews in *It Happened One Night* (1934). Other notable films include *Cleopatra* (1934), *Drums Along the Mohawk* (1939), *Midnight* (1939) and *The Palm Beach Story* (1942). She returned to the stage in the 1950s and later appeared in television productions. She died on 30 July 1996 in Speightstown, Barbados.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, britannica.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *It Happened One Night* (1934), Fi1m 88, as Ellie Andrews — [page](https://film.one/film/it-happened-one-night.md)

## Also known for

- *The Palm Beach Story* (1942), Geraldine 'Gerry' Jeffers
- *Drums Along the Mohawk* (1939), Lana (Magdelana)
- *Bluebeard's 8th Wife* (1938), Nicole De Loiselle
- *Cleopatra* (1934), Cleopatra
- *Midnight* (1939), Eve Peabody
- *Imitation of Life* (1934), Beatrice 'Bea' Pullman
- *The Oscars* (1953), Self
- *The Smiling Lieutenant* (1931), Franzi

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© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/claudette-colbert