Loretta Young (born Gretchen Young; January 6, 1913 â€" August 12,
2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child actress, she had a
long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953. She won the Academy
Award for Best Actress for her role in the film The Farmer's Daughter
(1947), and received her second Academy Award nomination for her role
in Come to the Stable (1949). Young moved to the relatively new medium
of television, where she had a dramatic anthology series, The Loretta
Young Show, from 1953 to 1961. The series earned three Emmy Awards,
and was re-run successfully on daytime TV and later in syndication. In
the 1980s, Young returned to the small screen and won a Golden Globe
for her role in Christmas Eve in 1986.She was born Gretchen Young in
Salt Lake City, Utah, the daughter of Gladys (née Royal) and John
Earle Young. At confirmation, she took the name Michaela. When she was
two years old, her parents separated, and when she was three, her
mother moved the family to Hollywood. She and her sisters Polly Ann
and Elizabeth Jane (better known as Sally Blane) all worked as child
actresses, but of the three, Gretchen was the most successful.Young's
first role was at the age of two or three in the silent film Sweet
Kitty Bellairs. During her high-school years she was educated at
Ramona Convent Secondary School. She was signed to a contract by John
McCormick, husband and manager of actress Colleen Moore, who saw the
young girl's potential. Moore gave her the name Loretta, explaining
that it was the name of her favorite doll.
2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child actress, she had a
long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953. She won the Academy
Award for Best Actress for her role in the film The Farmer's Daughter
(1947), and received her second Academy Award nomination for her role
in Come to the Stable (1949). Young moved to the relatively new medium
of television, where she had a dramatic anthology series, The Loretta
Young Show, from 1953 to 1961. The series earned three Emmy Awards,
and was re-run successfully on daytime TV and later in syndication. In
the 1980s, Young returned to the small screen and won a Golden Globe
for her role in Christmas Eve in 1986.She was born Gretchen Young in
Salt Lake City, Utah, the daughter of Gladys (née Royal) and John
Earle Young. At confirmation, she took the name Michaela. When she was
two years old, her parents separated, and when she was three, her
mother moved the family to Hollywood. She and her sisters Polly Ann
and Elizabeth Jane (better known as Sally Blane) all worked as child
actresses, but of the three, Gretchen was the most successful.Young's
first role was at the age of two or three in the silent film Sweet
Kitty Bellairs. During her high-school years she was educated at
Ramona Convent Secondary School. She was signed to a contract by John
McCormick, husband and manager of actress Colleen Moore, who saw the
young girl's potential. Moore gave her the name Loretta, explaining
that it was the name of her favorite doll.
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