'''Jean Arthur''' (born '''Gladys Georgianna Greene'''; October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American actress and a major film star of the 1930s and 1940s.
Arthur had feature roles in three [[Frank Capra]] films: ''[[Mr. Deeds Goes to Town]]'' (1936), ''[[You Can't Take It Withwith You (film)|You Can't Take It Withwith You]]'' (1938), and ''[[Mr. Smith Goes to Washington]]'' (1939), films that championed the "everyday heroine". Arthur was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Actress]] in 1944 for her performance in ''[[The More the Merrier]]'' (1943).<ref name="oscars1944">{{cite web|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1944 |title=The 16th Academy Awards |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715164124/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1944 |archivedate=15 July 2015 |deadurl=yes |accessdate=15 July 2015 |df= }}</ref> James Harvey wrote in his recounting of the era, "No one was more closely identified with the [[screwball comedy]] than Jean Arthur. So much was she part of it, so much was her star personality defined by it, that the screwball style itself seems almost unimaginable without her."<ref>Harvey 1987, p. 351.</ref> She has been called "the quintessential comedic leading lady".<ref>[[Robert Osborne|Osborne, Robert]]. "Dedication at 17-film salute to Jean Arthur." ''[[Turner Classic Movies]] (broadcast)'', January 2007.</ref>
Her last film performance was the memorable, and distinctly non-comedic, homesteader's wife in [[George Stevens]]' ''[[Shane (film)|Shane]]'' in 1953. To the public, Arthur was known as a reclusive woman. News magazine ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' observed in a 1940 article: "Next to [[Greta Garbo|Garbo]], Jean Arthur is Hollywood's reigning mystery woman."<ref>Oller 1997, p. 1.</ref> As well as recoiling from interviews, she avoided photographers and refused to become a part of any kind of publicity.<ref>Oller 1997, p. 2.</ref>
