Claudette Colbert (born Émilie “Lily” Claudette Chauchoin; September 13, 1903 – July 30, 1996) was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the late 1920s and progressed to films with the advent of talking pictures. Initially contracted to Paramount Pictures, Colbert became one of the few major actresses of the period who worked freelance; that is to say, independently of the studio system. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Colbert the 12th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema.
Born in France in 1903, her family emigrated to New York City when she was a child, and she grew up in Manhattan. Initially aspiring to be a fashion designer or painter, Colbert studied at the Art Students League before discovering acting. She began working in the theater around 1923, performing on Broadway in small roles under the name Claudette Colbert (adopting her grandmother’s maiden name). Early stage roles included The Wild Westcotts (1923) and A Kiss in a Taxi (1925), where her sophisticated look and refined diction began to stand out.
