Claudette Colbert was an American film actress and a leading lady in Hollywood for over two decades, and has been called “The mixture of inimitable beauty, sophistication, wit, and vivacity”.

Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the late 1920’s and progressed to motion pictures with the advent of sound film. Initially associated with Paramount Pictures, Colbert gradually shifted to working as a freelance actress.

She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in It Happened One Night (1934), and received two other Academy Award nominations. Other notable films include Cleopatra (1934) and The Palm Beach Story (1942).