Jean Arthur
Acting
Born 1900-10-17
Died 1991-06-19
Plattsburgh, New York, USA
107 credits
star on Hollywood Walk of Fame 1
Awards
Nominated for 1 Academy Award
Academy Awards 1 nominated
- 1944 Best Actress Nominated The More the Merrier
star on Hollywood Walk of Fame 1 won
- 1960 star on Hollywood Walk of Fame Won
Award data from Wikidata (CC0). Coverage may be incomplete.
Read 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.
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Filmography
— top 60 of 107
Acting
57 credits
Gunsmoke
Shane
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
You Can't Take It with You
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Only Angels Have Wings
Easy Living
A Foreign Affair
The Talk of the Town
Seven Chances
Warming Up
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
Arizona
Becoming Cary Grant
Clara Bow: Discovering the "It" Girl
The Whole Town's Talking
Brotherly Love
The More the Merrier
History Is Made at Night
The Plainsman
Diamond Jim
Double Daring
The Ex-Mrs. Bradford
Too Many Husbands
Horse Shoes
The Iron Horse
If You Could Only Cook
Thundering Through
Paramount on Parade
Public Hero Number 1
The Impatient Years
The Devil and Miss Jones
Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel
Going Hollywood: The '30s
The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu
Thundering Romance
The Defense Rests
Virtuous Husband
Danger Lights
Case Dismissed
The Saturday Night Kid
The Lawyer's Secret
Party Wire
The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu
Twisted Triggers
The Past of Mary Holmes
A Lady Takes a Chance
Most Precious Thing in Life
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)
Ex-Bad Boy
Whirlpool
Travelin' Fast
Ridin' Rivals
George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey
The Greene Murder Case
Street of Chance
Other credits
3 credits
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