Paulette Goddard

Pauline Marion Goddard Levy was born in Whitestone Landing, New York, on 3 June 1910. She was a beautiful child who began to model for local department stores before she made her debut with Florenz Ziegfeld's Follies at the age of 13. For three years she astounded audiences with her talent. She married Edgar James when she was 15, but the union was doomed to failure and was dissolved in 1930. By then Paulette had begun to make her mark on Hollywood with a small bit appearance in the film Berth Marks (1929). Her age (19) didn't help her in getting better parts. She would continue in bit roles in films such as The Girl Habit (1931), The Mouthpiece (1932), and Young Ironsides (1932). For the next four years she searched for parts but came up empty-handed. It wasn't until 1936 that Paulette would again appear in a motion picture, in Modern Times (1936). Once again she found herself with a bit part. Finally, after ten years she gained a decent part in The Women (1939), and Paulette thought that maybe her career was finally taking off. In her next film, she played Joyce Norman in The Cat and the Canary (1939), which was intended to be a send-off vehicle for Bob Hope. It not only did that, but it also established Paulette as a genuine star. Her performance won her a ten-year contract with Paramount Studios, which was one of the premier studios of the day. Her next feature film was with the great Fred Astaire in the acclaimed musical Second Chorus (1940). Later that year she once again teamed up with Bob Hope for the film The Ghost Breakers (1940), and once again the movie was a huge hit. This was just the beginning because the 1940s was the decade that kept her busy and in the American movie-going public's eyes. Motion pictures such as The Great Dictator (1940) with husband Charles Chaplin, Pot o' Gold (1941), and The Lady Has Plans (1942) were added to her already sparkling resume. In 1943, Paulette was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in the film So Proudly We Hail! (1943)! She didn't win, but it solidified her as a top draw. Although Standing Room Only (1944) with Fred MacMurray didn't bring in the crowds at the box office, the production is still remembered as a delightful comedy, a must-see for any film buff. Paulette reached the pinnacle of her career in Mitchell Leisen's Kitty (1945). The film was a hit with moviegoers, as Paulette played an ordinary English woman transformed into a duchess. The film was filled with plenty of comedy, dramatic and romantic scenes that appealed to virtually everyone. As Abby Hale in Unconquered (1947), Paulette once more found herself with a profit-making flick. This Cecil B. DeMille film paired her with Gary Cooper in an 18th century romantic drama. The critics weren't too keen on it, but the public could not have cared less. They loved this long-running (146 minutes) movie. The 1950s were not too good for Paulette's career, as she appeared in only six feature films, the last being Charge of the Lancers (1954). She would not be seen again on the silver screen until in Time of Indifference (1964). Her career was just about finished, although she did appear in a made-for-TV film called The Snoop Sisters: The Female Instinct (1972) as Norma Treet. That one was forgettable and Paulette retired from the film world for good. On 23 April 1990, she died of massive heart failure in Ronco, Switzerland, at the age of 79.