---
name: "Irene Dunne"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/irene-dunne"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "20 December 1898"
died: "4 September 1990"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 87
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-20T00:02:22.917160+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."
---

# Irene Dunne

Actor. Born 20 December 1898 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Died 4 September 1990.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 20 December 1898, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
- **Died:** 4 September 1990
- **Active:** 1937–1939
- **Also known as:** Irene Marie Dunn
- **Frequently works with:** [Leo McCarey](https://film.one/person/leo-mccarey.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 5 Oscar nominations
- **Average Fi1m score:** 87, as actor, over 2 titles
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irene_Dunne, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q230099, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002050/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/77158

## Streaming the US now

- **The Roku Channel:** [*The Awful Truth*](https://film.one/film/the-awful-truth.md) (89)
- **HBO Max:** [*Love Affair*](https://film.one/film/love-affair.md) (85)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Irene Dunne was an American actress and singer. Born Irene Marie Dunn on 20 December 1898 in Louisville, Kentucky, she died on 4 September 1990 in Los Angeles, California. She trained for opera but turned to musical theatre, appearing in touring productions including *Show Boat* (1929), which led to a contract with RKO Pictures.

Her first film was *Leathernecking* (1930). She received Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for *Cimarron* (1931), *Theodora Goes Wild* (1936), *The Awful Truth* (1937), *Love Affair* (1939) and *I Remember Mama* (1948). Other notable films include *My Favorite Wife* (1940), *Penny Serenade* (1941) and *Life with Father* (1947). She also appeared in musicals such as *Roberta* (1935) and *Show Boat* (1936).

In 1985 she received Kennedy Center Honors for her contribution to the arts.

*Sources: britannica.com, en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, catalog.afi.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Love Affair* (1939), Fi1m 85, as Terry McKay — [page](https://film.one/film/love-affair.md)
- *The Awful Truth* (1937), Fi1m 89, as Lucy Warriner — [page](https://film.one/film/the-awful-truth.md)

## Complete filmography (48)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Musical Comedy Tonight III* (1985), as (archive footage)
- *The DuPont Show with June Allyson* (1959), series, as Dr. Gina Kerstas
- *MGM Parade* (1955), series, Actor
- *General Electric Theater* (1953), series, as Margaret Henderson
- *It Grows on Trees* (1952), as Polly Baxter
- *The Jack Benny Program* (1950), series, as Irene Dunne
- *The Mudlark* (1950), as Queen Victoria
- *Never a Dull Moment* (1950), as Kay Kingsley
- *I Remember Mama* (1948), as Mama
- *Life with Father* (1947), as Vinnie Day
- *Anna and the King of Siam* (1946), as Anna Owens
- *Over 21* (1945), as Paula 'Polly' Wharton
- *Together Again* (1944), as Anne Crandall
- *The White Cliffs of Dover* (1944), as Susan Dunn
- *A Guy Named Joe* (1944), as Dorinda Durston
- *Twenty Years After* (1944), as (archive footage)
- *Lady in a Jam* (1942), as Jane Palmer
- *Unfinished Business* (1941), as Nancy Andrews
- *Penny Serenade* (1941), as Julie Gardiner
- *My Favorite Wife* (1940), as Ellen Wagstaff Arden
- *When Tomorrow Comes* (1939), as Helen
- *Invitation to Happiness* (1939), as Eleanor Wayne
- *Love Affair* (1939), as Terry McKay — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/love-affair.md)
- *Joy of Living* (1938), as Margaret 'Maggie' Garret
- *The Awful Truth* (1937), as Lucy Warriner — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/film/the-awful-truth.md)
- *High, Wide and Handsome* (1937), as Sally Watterson
- *Theodora Goes Wild* (1936), as Theodora Lynn
- *Show Boat* (1936), as Magnolia Hawkes
- *Magnificent Obsession* (1935), as Helen Hudson
- *Roberta* (1935), as Stephanie
- *Sweet Adeline* (1934), as Adeline 'Addie' Schmidt
- *The Age of Innocence* (1934), as Countess Ellen Olenska
- *Stingaree* (1934), as Hilda Bouverie
- *This Man Is Mine* (1934), as Tony Dunlap
- *If I Were Free* (1933), as Sarah Cazenove
- *Ann Vickers* (1933), as Ann Vickers
- *The Silver Cord* (1933), as Christina Phelps
- *The Secret of Madame Blanche* (1933), as Sally
- *No Other Woman* (1933), as Anna Stanley
- *Thirteen Women* (1932), as Laura Stanhope
- *Back Street* (1932), as Ray Schmidt
- *Symphony of Six Million* (1932), as Jessica
- *Consolation Marriage* (1931), as Mary Brown Porter
- *The Great Lover* (1931), as Diana
- *Bachelor Apartment* (1931), as Helene Andrews
- *The Stolen Jools* (1931), as Irene Dunne
- *Cimarron* (1931), as Sabra Cravat
- *Leathernecking* (1930), as Delphine Witherspoon

## Gallery

- ![Irene Dunne](https://film.one/media/person/1229619/gallery-f98d34f45439.jpg) Irene Dunne — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Irene_Dunne_upshot.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Promotional still of actress Irene Dunne](https://film.one/media/person/1229619/gallery-c6bcde9b1f73.jpg) Promotional still of actress Irene Dunne — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Irene_Dunne_promotional_still.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Irene DUNNE (1898-1990), actress (2012)](https://film.one/media/person/1229619/gallery-7a7c0f3acfca.jpg) Irene DUNNE (1898-1990), actress (2012) — Selvejp, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Ir%C3%A8ne_DUNNE_%281898-1990%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![A frame from the moonflix.com colorization of Penny Serenade (1941) using their newest AI colorization method. Moonflix leads the AI color movement with the bes (2022)](https://film.one/media/person/1229619/gallery-0b965d6f0a6a.jpg) A frame from the moonflix.com colorization of Penny Serenade (1941) using their newest AI colorization method. Moonflix leads the AI color movement with the bes (2022) — moonflix, LLC, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Penny_serenade_colorized_moonflix_3.0.jpg/1280px-Penny_serenade_colorized_moonflix_3.0.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Irene Dunne](https://film.one/media/person/1229619/gallery-a80516e74416.jpg) Irene Dunne — Image via TMDB
- ![Irene Dunne](https://film.one/media/person/1229619/gallery-8473a4659ca9.jpg) Irene Dunne — Image via TMDB
- ![Irene Dunne](https://film.one/media/person/1229619/gallery-0d39ffbaf05d.jpg) Irene Dunne — Image via TMDB
- ![Actress Irene Dunne attends charity fundraiser with her husband, Dr Francis Griffin (1958)](https://film.one/media/person/1229619/gallery-8f50505e9ddf.jpg) Actress Irene Dunne attends charity fundraiser with her husband, Dr Francis Griffin (1958) — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Irene_Dunne_with_husband_in_1958.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Actress Irene Dunne with her husband, Dr. Griffin, at a formal public event.](https://film.one/media/person/1229619/gallery-5ba74e1045b7.jpg) Actress Irene Dunne with her husband, Dr. Griffin, at a formal public event. — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Irene_Dunne_and_Dr._F._Griffin.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 5 nominated

- 1949: Best Actress (nominated), for *I Remember Mama*
- 1940: Best Actress (nominated), for *Love Affair*
- 1938: Best Actress (nominated), for *The Awful Truth*
- 1937: Best Actress (nominated), for *Theodora Goes Wild*
- 1931: Best Actress (nominated), for *Cimarron*

### Other awards — 5 won

- Kennedy Center Honors 1985: Kennedy Center Honors (won)
- Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre 1953: Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre (won)
- Los Angeles Times Women of the Year Silver Cup 1951: Los Angeles Times Women of the Year Silver Cup (won)
- Papal Lateran Cross 1951: Papal Lateran Cross (won)
- Laetare Medal 1949: Laetare Medal (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© 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/irene-dunne