Job Actress, producer
Years active 1914-1981
Top Roles Stenographer, Sadie Thompson, Kitty Kelly / Queen Kelly, Suzanne Ornoff, St.Clair Van Tassel
Top GenresSilent Films, Drama, Comedy, Romance, Short Films, Film Adaptation
Top TopicsInfidelity, Based on Play, Romance (Drama)
Top Collaborators (Director), (Producer), (Director),
Shares birthday with Richard Denning, Julian Glover, Mary Treen  see more..

Gloria Swanson Overview:

Legendary actress, Gloria Swanson, was born Gloria May Josephine Svensson on Mar 27, 1899 in Chicago, IL. Swanson died at the age of 84 on Apr 4, 1983 in New York City, NY and was laid to rest in Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest Cemetery in Manhattan, NY.

MINI BIO:

Dark-haired, highly mannered American star and (very) dramatic actress. Progressed from being a Mack Sennett bathing beauty at 16 to the silent screen's adventuress par excellence, moving chicly through a new-found sexual freedom. Her career foundered with the coming of sound, although she made one remarkable comeback appearance in Sunset Boulevard. Married to Wallace Beery 1916-1918, first of six. Oscar nominee for Sadie Thompson, The Trespasser, and Sunset Boulevard. Died following heart surgery.

(Source: available at Amazon Quinlan's Film Stars).

HONORS and AWARDS:

.

Although Swanson was nominated for three Oscars, she never won a competitive Academy Award.

Academy Awards

YearAwardFilm nameRoleResult
1927/28Best ActressSadie Thompson (1928)Sadie ThompsonNominated
1929/30Best ActressThe Trespasser (1929)Marion DonnellNominated
1950Best ActressSunset Blvd. (1950)Norma DesmondNominated
.

She was honored with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the categories of Television and Motion Pictures. Gloria Swanson's handprints and footprints were 'set in stone' at Grauman's Chinese Theater during imprint ceremony #8 on 1927.

BlogHub Articles:

Silents are Golden: Silent Superstars ? The Eternally Glamorous

By Lea Stans on Jul 15, 2021 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

Silents are Golden: Silent Superstars ? The Eternally Glamorous If you hear the words ?glamour? and ?movie star,? which famous name comes to mind? Chances are someone like Marilyn Monroe or Sophia Loren. Or perhaps ? hopefully! ? you thought of . Heck, her name even s... Read full article


A gloriosa / The Glorious

By L? on Mar 16, 2019 From Critica Retro

A gloriosa / The Glorious Assim como muitas pessoas, minha introdu??o ? foi atrav?s de “Crep?sculo dos Deuses” (1950). Muitos espectadores, num primeiro momento, podem pensar que Norma Desmond ? uma personagem autobiogr?fica – em... Read full article


By Michele on Sep 14, 2015 From Timeless Hollywood

During the silent era was the Queen of Hollywood. She was a modern woman, an early sex symbol and personified glamour. Swanson was one of the most photographed women in the world. She had to fight to prove her talent as an actress and was nominated for an Academy Award three times for... Read full article


The Debt Actresses Owe William Somerset Maugham: from to Annette Bening

By Judy on Feb 19, 2015 From Cary Grant Won't Eat You

I?ve read many glowing tributes to the stars of The Letter, Being Julia, Of Human Bondage, and Sadie Thompson over the years. While I?ve never questioned the talents of these actresses, I have always credited much of their brilliance in these parts to William Somerset Maugham. Their strengths are on... Read full article


The Debt Actresses Owe William Somerset Maugham: from to Annette Bening

By Judy on Feb 19, 2015 From Cary Grant Won't Eat You

I?ve read many glowing tributes to the stars of The Letter, Being Julia, Of Human Bondage, and Sadie Thompson over the years. While I?ve never questioned the talents of these actresses, I have always credited much of their brilliance in these parts to William Somerset Maugham. Their strengths are on... Read full article


See all articles

Gloria Swanson Quotes:

Norma Desmond: [to newsreel camera] And I promise you I'll never desert you again because after 'Salome' we'll make another picture and another picture. You see, this is my life! It always will be! Nothing else! Just us, the cameras, and those wonderful people out there in the dark!... All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up.


Joe Gillis: I'm not an executive, just a writer.
Norma Desmond: You are, are you? writing words, words, more words! Well, you'll make a rope of words and strangle this business! With a microphone there to catch the last gurgles, and Technicolor to photograph the red, swollen tongues!


Norma Desmond: Don't be silly.
[hands Joe a present]
Norma Desmond: Here, I was going to give it to you at midnight.
Joe Gillis: Norma, I can't take it, you've bought me enough.
Norma Desmond: Shut up, I'm rich! I'm richer than all this new Hollywood trash! I've got a million dollars.
Joe Gillis: Keep it.
Norma Desmond: Own three blocks downtown, I've got oil in Bakersfield, pumping, *pumping*, pumping! What's it for but to buy us anything we want!
Joe Gillis: Cut out that "us" business!
Norma Desmond: What's the matter with you?
Joe Gillis: What right do you have to take me for granted?
Norma Desmond: What right? Do you want me to tell you?
Joe Gillis: Has it ever occurred to you that I may have a life of my own? That there may be some girl I'm crazy about?
Norma Desmond: Who? Some car hop, or dress extra?
Joe Gillis: What I'm trying to say is that I'm all wrong for you. You want a Valentino, somebody with polo ponies, a big shot!
Norma Desmond: What you're trying to say is that you don't want me to love you. Say it. Say it!
[slaps him hard across the face]


read more quotes from Gloria Swanson...



Share this page:
Visit the Classic Movie Hub Blog CMH
Also an Aries






See All Aries >>
Best Actress Oscar 1927/28






See more Best Actress awards>>
Grauman's Imprints

Also at Grauman's




See All Imprint Ceremonies >>
Gloria Swanson on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame




See All Walk of Fame Stars >>
Gloria Swanson Facts
The first film shown at the original Roxy Theatre at 153 W. 50th Street, New York City, was Swanson's The Love of Sunya (1927) in March 1927, and she attended the premiere. At its demolition in 1961 she posed in its ruins as a final farewell.

Her performance as Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd. (1950) is ranked #31 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

Wrote her own autobiography in rebuttal to certain claims made by Rose Kennedy in her 1974 memoirs.

See All Related Facts >>