'Caterina Williams' is sometimes quoted as her real name.
William Powell's nickname for her was 'Minnie'.
A devout Democrat and feminist, she later dismissed her work in the pre-Civil Rights-era movie Ham and Eggs at the Front (1927) as "shameful".
After graduating from high school in 1923, Myrna got a job dancing in the chorus during the prologue for The Ten Commandments at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
Appeared in staged prologues at Grauman's Egyptian theater in Los Angeles, before getting her first role in films. The prologues, staged by Fanchon and Marco, were live shows put on before the feature had begun. Myrna appeared in prologues for The Ten Commandments (1923) and The Thief of Bagdad (1924), among others.
Appeared in the first feature film with synchronized sound (Don Juan (1926)) and first feature film with audible dialog (The Jazz Singer (1927)).
At Venice High school, in the middle of a small rose garden, is a larger-than-life-size statue of actress Myrna Loy. And it was made years before Myrna appeared in a single movie. Actually, it isn't a particularly good likeness of Miss Loy. Standing atop a stone pedestal, back arched, the short-haired figure is semi-nude (wearing only a thin gown which leaves little to the imagination), with one arm raised in a dramatic pose. All three statues were modeled by Venice High students, and the trio are meant to depict the "Mental," "Physical" and "Spiritual." According to the bronze plaque on the east side of the pedestal, the statues were erected in 1921, which means that Myrna Loy (then named Myrna Williams) was only 16 years old when she posed for the "Spiritual" statue - long before she became a celebrity.
Attended Venice High School in Los Angeles, where a statue of her stands (on the front lawn). The same school was featured in the original Grease (1978), American History X (1998) and in The Chemical Brothers' and Britney Spears' music videos ("Elektrobank" and "Baby one more time", respectively).
Born on a cattle ranch.
Changing last name from Williams to Loy was suggested by legendary pulp writer Paul Cain (AKA Peter Ruric).
First Actress to work for the UN (UNESCO).
For five years (1949-54) she served as a film advisor for UNESCO.
Good friend of Princess Marina.
Her Cheaper by the Dozen (1950) co-star, Jeanne Crain, died exactly ten years to the day after Myrna.
Her father, at age 21, the youngest man ever elected to the Montana State Legislature, owned a small cattle ranch.
Her final public appearance was in 1991 when she received her lifetime achievement award during _63rd Annual Academy Awards, The (1991) (TV)_ . She was unable to travel to Hollywood to accept the award in person, so the Academy arranged a live satellite link to her Manhattan apartment. Anjelica Huston introduced the film tribute presentation to her, which started with clips from The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) and ended with a clip from After the Thin Man (1936) When the tribute finished, there was instantaneous rapturous applause and Huston then said, "Here from her apartment in New York is Miss Loy. Congratulations Myrna." Loy appeared live on a large screen from her beautiful New York apartment smiling, with her Honorary Oscar on a side table next to her. She was seated wearing sparkling purple evening wear and watched intently on her own television. She viewed and smiled at close up shots of fellow same-year Honorary Award recipient Sophia Loren and other audience members applauding. There was unusually no standing ovation, instead audience members remained seated during the applause, this was by no means a snub. There was a short silence after the ap
Her mother, Della Williams, was a talented pianist who encouraged Myrna's interest in the arts.
Her profile was the most requested in the 1930s by women to their plastic surgeons.
Hobbies: Sculpturing and dancing.
In 1918, her father died in the Spanish Flu epidemic, and Myrna, her mom, and brother moved to LA.