Gloria Swanson

Gloria Swanson

Gloria Josephine May Swanson was an American actress, producer and business woman. She starred in dozens of silent films and was nominated three times for an Academy Award as Best Actress. Swanson was born in Chicago and raised in a military family that moved from base to base.

About Gloria Swanson in brief

Summary Gloria SwansonGloria Josephine May Swanson was an American actress, producer and business woman. She starred in dozens of silent films and was nominated three times for an Academy Award as Best Actress. Swanson was born in Chicago and raised in a military family that moved from base to base. Her schoolgirl crush on Essanay Studios actor Francis X. Bushman led to her aunt taking her to tour the actor’s Chicago studio. The 15-year-old Swanson was offered a brief walk-on for one film as an extra, beginning her life’s career in front of the cameras. In 1925, Swanson joined United Artists as one of the film industry’s pioneering women filmmakers. She produced and starred in the 1928 film Sadie Thompson, earning her a nomination for Best Actress at the first annual Academy Awards. Her sound film debut performance in the 1929 The Trespasser, earned her a second Academy Award nomination. In 1950, Swanson’s comeback role in the 1950 film Sunset Boulevardearned her a Golden Globe Award and a third nomination for an Oscar. She only made three more films, but guest starred on several television shows, and acted in road productions of stage plays. In 1915, she co-starred in Sweedie Goes to College with her future first husband Wallace Beery. In 1918, Swanson signed a contract with Famous Players-LaskyParamount Pictures for USD 150 a week, to be raised to USD 350 a week. She made six pictures under the direction of Cecil B.

DeMille, including Male and Female in which she posed as a lion with a lion as her husband. She was married to the man who would become her second husband, Herbert Somborn, until her death in 1973. She had a daughter with her third husband, actress and producer Mary Ann Korn, and a son with her fourth husband, actor Robert Korn. She died of lung cancer in 1994, at the age of 89. She is survived by her daughter, Mary Ann, and her son, Robert KORN, who is now a successful businessman and philanthropist. The Swanson family still lives in Chicago, Illinois, and has a daughter and son-in-law in New York City, New York, New Jersey, and Los Angeles, California. She also had a son, James Swanson, who died in 2008. She has a grandson, James “James” Swanson, Jr., who appeared in several films with her, including The Sultan’s Wife and Teddy at the Throttle. Her great-great-granddaughter, MaryAnn Swanson, is also a well-known actress, having appeared in numerous films with director Clarence G. Badger, including Her Decision and You Can’t Believe Everything in 1918. Her son James “Jimmy” Swanson also appeared in a number of films with Mack Sennett, such as The Danger Girl, The Sultan’s Wife, and Teddy At The Throttle, as a supporting actor. Her grandson, Robert “Bob” Swanson is an actor-director-producer-director.