Barbara Stanwyck (born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 â€"
January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage,
film and television star, she was known during her 60-year career as a
consummate and versatile professional for her strong, realistic screen
presence. A favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz
Lang and Frank Capra, she made 85 films in 38 years before turning to
television.Stanwyck got her start on the stage in the chorus as a
Ziegfeld girl in 1923 at age 16 and within a few years was acting in
plays. She was then cast in her first lead role in Burlesque (1927),
becoming a Broadway star. Soon after that, Stanwyck obtained film
roles and got her major break when Frank Capra chose her for his
romantic drama Ladies of Leisure (1930), which led to additional lead
roles.In 1937 she had the title role in Stella Dallas and received her
first Academy Award nomination for best actress. In 1941 she starred
in two successful screwball comedies: Ball of Fire with Gary Cooper,
and The Lady Eve with Henry Fonda. She received her second Academy
Award nomination for Ball of Fire, and in recent decades The Lady Eve
has come to be regarded as a romantic comedy classic with Stanwyck's
performance called one of the best in American comedy.By 1944,
Stanwyck had become the highest-paid woman in the United States. She
starred alongside Fred MacMurray in the seminal film noir Double
Indemnity (1944), playing the smoldering wife who persuades
MacMurray's insurance salesman to kill her husband. Described as one
of the ultimate portrayals of villainy, it is widely thought that
Stanwyck should have won the Academy Award for Best Actress rather
than being just nominated. She received another Oscar nomination for
her lead performance as an invalid wife overhearing her own murder
plot in the thriller film noir, Sorry, Wrong Number (1948). After she
moved into television in the 1960s, she won three Emmy Awards â€" for
The Barbara Stanwyck Show (1961), the western series The Big Valley
(1966), and miniseries The Thorn Birds (1983).
January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage,
film and television star, she was known during her 60-year career as a
consummate and versatile professional for her strong, realistic screen
presence. A favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz
Lang and Frank Capra, she made 85 films in 38 years before turning to
television.Stanwyck got her start on the stage in the chorus as a
Ziegfeld girl in 1923 at age 16 and within a few years was acting in
plays. She was then cast in her first lead role in Burlesque (1927),
becoming a Broadway star. Soon after that, Stanwyck obtained film
roles and got her major break when Frank Capra chose her for his
romantic drama Ladies of Leisure (1930), which led to additional lead
roles.In 1937 she had the title role in Stella Dallas and received her
first Academy Award nomination for best actress. In 1941 she starred
in two successful screwball comedies: Ball of Fire with Gary Cooper,
and The Lady Eve with Henry Fonda. She received her second Academy
Award nomination for Ball of Fire, and in recent decades The Lady Eve
has come to be regarded as a romantic comedy classic with Stanwyck's
performance called one of the best in American comedy.By 1944,
Stanwyck had become the highest-paid woman in the United States. She
starred alongside Fred MacMurray in the seminal film noir Double
Indemnity (1944), playing the smoldering wife who persuades
MacMurray's insurance salesman to kill her husband. Described as one
of the ultimate portrayals of villainy, it is widely thought that
Stanwyck should have won the Academy Award for Best Actress rather
than being just nominated. She received another Oscar nomination for
her lead performance as an invalid wife overhearing her own murder
plot in the thriller film noir, Sorry, Wrong Number (1948). After she
moved into television in the 1960s, she won three Emmy Awards â€" for
The Barbara Stanwyck Show (1961), the western series The Big Valley
(1966), and miniseries The Thorn Birds (1983).
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