Claire Trevor photo 4 — Brown, Caucasian

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Claire Trevor

Actress

Born: Mar 8, 1910
height: 5'3" (or 160 cm) (Petite)
body type: Slim
nationality: American

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Career

Active 1929 – 1987

Biography

About Claire Trevor

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Claire Trevor was born on March 8, 1910, in New York City, the only child of Noel Wemlinger, a Fifth Avenue merchant tailor, and his wife, Benjamina. For many years, her birth year was misreported as 1909, which is why her age at death was initially given as 91, not 90. She was raised in New York City and later in Larchmont, New York.

Trevor began her career with six months of art classes at Columbia University and six months at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She made her stage debut in the summer of 1929 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After returning to New York, she appeared in Brooklyn-filmed Vitaphone shorts and summer stock theatre. In 1932, she starred on Broadway in Whistling in the Dark. Her film debut came in Jimmy and Sally (1933), a role originally intended for Sally Eilers. From 1933 to 1938, she starred in 29 films, often as the lead or heroine. In 1937, she earned her first Oscar nomination for Dead End, alongside Humphrey Bogart. She also appeared on radio in Big Town and The Old Gold Don Ameche Show. In 1939, she was well established as a leading lady, with a memorable performance in Stagecoach, where she received top billing ahead of John Wayne.

Two of Trevor's most memorable roles were opposite Dick Powell in Murder, My Sweet (1944) and with Lawrence Tierney in Born to Kill (1947). For her role as Gaye Dawn in Key Largo (1948), she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her third Oscar nomination came for The High and the Mighty (1954). In 1957, she won an Emmy for her role in Producers' Showcase's 'Dodsworth'. After the 1950s, her appearances became rare, but she played Charlotte in Kiss Me Goodbye (1982) and made her final television appearance in Norman Rockwell's Breaking Home Ties (1987). She made a guest appearance at the 70th Academy Awards in 1998.

Trevor was married three times. Her first marriage to Clark Andrews ended in divorce after four years. She married Navy Lieutenant Cylos William Dunsmore in 1943; their son Charles was her only child, and they divorced in 1947. In 1948, she married film producer Milton Bren and moved to Newport Beach, California. In 1978, her son died in the crash of PSA Flight 182, and her husband died of a brain tumor the following year. Devastated, she returned to Manhattan for several years, living in a Fifth Avenue apartment and taking a few roles. She eventually returned to California, where she became a generous supporter of the arts. She supported Thomas Dewey in the 1944 presidential election. She died on April 8, 2000, at age 90 in Newport Beach. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at UC Irvine is named in her honor. Her Oscar and Emmy statuettes are displayed in the Arts Plaza.