Jean Arthur

Acting · 1.0 popularity

Age

125

Movies

105

Born: October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991
From: Plattsburgh, New York, USA

Biography

Jean Arthur (born Gladys Georgianna Greene; October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American actress celebrated as one of the defining screen personalities of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Known for her quick wit, expressive voice, and understated charm, she became one of the era’s most beloved comedic leading ladies, especially in the screwball comedy genre. Film historian James Harvey noted that “no one was more closely identified with the screwball comedy than Jean Arthur,” and her work remains central to the style’s legacy. Arthur rose to prominence in the mid‑1930s and became best known for her collaborations with director Frank Capra, starring in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), You Can’t Take It with You (1938), and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). These films cemented her image as the relatable, spirited heroine of Depression‑era American cinema. She earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her performance in The More the Merrier (1943). Although she famously disliked the pressures of Hollywood and often retreated from public life, Arthur continued to work selectively after the 1940s. She delivered a memorable dramatic turn as Marian Starrett in George Stevens’ classic Western Shane (1953). She later returned to acting on television, appearing in a 1965 episode of Gunsmoke and starring in the 1966 sitcom The Jean Arthur Show. After leaving acting, Arthur taught drama at Vassar College and the North Carolina School of the Arts, where students remembered her as a passionate and generous instructor. She lived a largely private life in her later years and died in 1991 at the age of 90.

Works

105 films

Shane

19537.3

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

19397.8

You Can't Take It with You

19387.5

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

19367.5

Only Angels Have Wings

19397.3

Seven Chances

19257.5

A Foreign Affair

19487.1

The Talk of the Town

19427.3

The More the Merrier

19437.0

Easy Living

19377.2

Arizona

19406.5

The Plainsman

19366.5

Hello Lafayette

19277.0

If You Could Only Cook

19357.5

Becoming Cary Grant

20176.6

The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind

19888.2

Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel

2001

Double Daring

192610.0

Clara Bow: Discovering the "It" Girl

19998.3

The Devil and Miss Jones

19417.7

Brotherly Love

19288.0

History Is Made at Night

19376.6

Thundering Through

19257.0

The Whole Town's Talking

19356.9

Going Hollywood: The '30s

19849.0

Ex-Bad Boy

19318.0

Thundering Romance

19247.0

Warming Up

19289.0

Virtuous Husband

19318.0

Too Many Husbands

19406.5

The Iron Horse

19256.8

Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)

19366.0

The Ex-Mrs. Bradford

19366.2

Travelin' Fast

192410.0

Get That Venus

19337.5

A Lady Takes a Chance

19435.8

Somebody Lied

192310.0

George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey

19855.8

Hollywood: The Selznick Years

19614.4

The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu

19296.0

The Mad Racer

19268.0

Whirlpool

19346.4

Diamond Jim

19356.5

Case Dismissed

19247.0

Gary Cooper: The Face of a Hero

19987.0

Paramount on Parade

19306.1

The Drug Store Cowboy

192510.0

The Impatient Years

19446.4

More Than a Secretary

19366.5

Wine of Youth

19248.3

Bigger and Better Blondes

19278.0

The Defense Rests

19347.1

The Silver Horde

19305.5

The Canary Murder Case

19295.7

Party Wire

19358.3

Most Precious Thing in Life

19345.8

The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu

19305.3

The Gang Buster

19316.2

The Public Menace

19356.0

Twisted Triggers

19268.0

Under Fire

192610.0

Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 12

19386.0

Screen Snapshots Series 19, No. 1

19396.0

Cameo Kirby

19236.0

Yesterday and Today

19537.0

Adventure in Manhattan

19366.1

Young Eagles

19307.0

Horse Shoes

19279.0

Bringin' Home the Bacon

19248.0

The Greene Murder Case

19296.0

The Saturday Night Kid

19294.7

Born to Battle

19267.0

Danger Lights

19316.1

The Block Signal

19269.0

Public Hero Number 1

19356.3

The Masked Menace

192710.0

The Fighting Smile

19258.0

The Hurricane Horseman

19258.0

Sins of the Fathers

19288.0

Ridin' Rivals

192610.0

Lightning Bill

19269.0

Winners Of The Wilderness

19277.7

The Lawyer's Secret

19316.2

Biff Bang Buddy

192410.0

The Cowboy Cop

19267.0

The College Boob

19269.5

The Past of Mary Holmes

193310.0

Tearin' Loose

19259.0

A Man of Nerve

19258.0

The Roaring Rider

19267.0

Fast and Fearless

19247.0

The Broken Gate

19277.0

The Poor Nut

192710.0

Spring Fever

19239.0

Street of Chance

19306.8

Flying Luck

19279.0

Wallflowers

192810.0

Half Way to Heaven

19296.0

Stairs of Sand

1929

Husband Hunters

19274.0

Frank Capra Jr. Remembers... You Can't Take It with You

2008

The Fighting Cheat

19267.0

Monks a la mode

1923

Eight-Cylinder Bull

19269.0

The Powerful Eye

192410.0