Jean Arthur

Acting · 1.1 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

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

19397.8

Shane

19537.3

You Can't Take It with You

19387.5

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

19367.5

Only Angels Have Wings

19397.3

A Foreign Affair

19487.1

Seven Chances

19257.5

Double Daring

192610.0

Easy Living

19377.2

The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind

19888.2

The Talk of the Town

19427.3

If You Could Only Cook

19357.5

Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel

2001

The Plainsman

19366.5

Arizona

19406.5

Becoming Cary Grant

20176.6

Warming Up

19289.0

The More the Merrier

19437.0

History Is Made at Night

19376.6

Brotherly Love

19288.0

The Iron Horse

19256.8

Virtuous Husband

19318.0

The Whole Town's Talking

19356.9

The Devil and Miss Jones

19417.7

Thundering Romance

19247.0

Going Hollywood: The '30s

19849.0

Hello Lafayette

19277.0

Clara Bow: Discovering the "It" Girl

19998.3

Ex-Bad Boy

19318.0

A Lady Takes a Chance

19435.8

Somebody Lied

192310.0

Get That Venus

19337.5

The Defense Rests

19347.1

Gary Cooper: The Face of a Hero

19987.0

Too Many Husbands

19406.5

Paramount on Parade

19306.1

Thundering Through

19257.0

The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu

19296.0

The Silver Horde

19305.5

George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey

19855.8

More Than a Secretary

19366.5

Hollywood: The Selznick Years

19614.4

Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)

19366.0

Screen Snapshots Series 19, No. 1

19396.0

The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu

19305.3

Whirlpool

19346.4

Case Dismissed

19247.0

The Impatient Years

19446.3

Diamond Jim

19356.5

The Ex-Mrs. Bradford

19366.2

Most Precious Thing in Life

19345.8

The Fighting Smile

19258.0

Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 12

19386.0

Twisted Triggers

19268.0

Bigger and Better Blondes

19278.0

Travelin' Fast

192410.0

The Drug Store Cowboy

192510.0

The Cowboy Cop

19267.0

The Canary Murder Case

19295.7

The Mad Racer

19268.0

Public Hero Number 1

19356.3

The Greene Murder Case

19296.0

Horse Shoes

19279.0

The Lawyer's Secret

19316.2

Ridin' Rivals

192610.0

The Block Signal

19269.0

Adventure in Manhattan

19366.1

Lightning Bill

19269.0

A Man of Nerve

19258.0

Danger Lights

19316.1

The Masked Menace

192710.0

The Saturday Night Kid

19294.7

The College Boob

19269.5

The Gang Buster

19316.2

Young Eagles

19307.0

Wine of Youth

19248.3

The Past of Mary Holmes

193310.0

Cameo Kirby

19236.0

Street of Chance

19306.8

Party Wire

19358.3

Under Fire

192610.0

The Public Menace

19356.0

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

2008

Half Way to Heaven

19296.0

The Hurricane Horseman

19258.0

Yesterday and Today

19537.0

The Broken Gate

19277.0

Sins of the Fathers

19288.0

Winners Of The Wilderness

19277.7

Flying Luck

19279.0

Fast and Fearless

19247.0

Biff Bang Buddy

192410.0

Bringin' Home the Bacon

19248.0

Stairs of Sand

1929

Husband Hunters

19274.0

Wallflowers

192810.0

The Poor Nut

192710.0

Spring Fever

19239.0

Tearin' Loose

19259.0

The Roaring Rider

19267.0

Born to Battle

19267.0

The Powerful Eye

192410.0

The Fighting Cheat

19267.0

Monks a la mode

1923

Eight-Cylinder Bull

19269.0