All The Babes
Loretta Young
Also known as Attila the Nun, Gretchen Michaela Young, Saint Loretta, The Steel Butterfly
Career
Active 1917 – 2000
Biography
About Loretta Young
Slim, 5'6" with brown hair and brown eyes, Loretta Young was one of Hollywood's most enduring leading ladies. Born Gretchen Young in Salt Lake City, Utah on January 6, 1913, she began acting as a child extra at age four, encouraged by her mother and older sisters, who were also actresses. Her big break came when Mae Murray, star of The Primrose Ring, was so taken with her that she offered to adopt the young girl. Loretta lived with the Murrays for about a year and a half before returning to her family.
As a teenager, she changed her name to Loretta Young and quickly graduated from ingenue to leading lady. Her career flourished through the 1920s and 1930s, with roles in films like The Magnificent Flirt and The Head Man. In 1930, at age 17, she eloped with Grant Withers, a divorced actor nine years her senior; the marriage was annulled the following year. By the mid-1930s, she had become one of the premier actresses at Fox. Her performance in The Farmer's Daughter (1947) won her the Academy Award for Best Actress, and she starred in The Bishop's Wife the same year, a holiday classic that remains popular.
In 1953, she retired from films and turned to television, hosting and starring in The Loretta Young Show, an anthology series that ran for eight years on NBC. The show earned her three Emmy Awards for best actress in a dramatic series, in 1954, 1956, and 1958. After a brief return in The New Loretta Young Show, which lasted only one season, she stepped away from the screen for nearly three decades. Her final performance was in the made-for-television film Lady in the Corner (1989). She passed away on August 12, 2000, from ovarian cancer, at the age of 87.
Record
Profile details
Personal
- Died
- Saturday 12th of August 2000 (age 87)
- Years Active
- 1917-2000
- Birthplace
- Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
- Ethnicity
- Caucasian
- Sexuality
- Straight
Body
- Hair Color
- Brown
- Eye Color
- Brown
- Boobs
- Real/Natural
Frequently asked
How did Loretta Young's early life influence her acting career?
She began acting as a child extra at age four, following her older sisters into the industry. Her mother's brother-in-law, an assistant director, helped her get her first small role, and her family's support was crucial in her early years.
What was significant about her role in The Farmer's Daughter?
She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for this 1947 film, which is considered her most memorable performance and a defining moment in her career.
How did she balance her film and television careers?
After retiring from films in 1953, she hosted and starred in The Loretta Young Show, which ran for eight years and earned her three Emmy Awards, demonstrating a successful transition to television.
Did you know
- She eloped with Grant Withers, who was nine years her senior and previously married, in 1930 when she was 17; the marriage was annulled in 1931.
- Mae Murray was so impressed by her performance in The Primrose Ring that she offered to adopt her.
- She had three children: Judy, Christopher, and Peter, and by 1960 she was a grandmother.
- Her last film role was in It Happens Every Thursday (1953), after which she focused on television.
- She died from ovarian cancer at the home of her sister Georgiana and her husband, Ricardo Montalban.
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