Biography
This page uses content from the Celeste Holm biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.
Celeste Holm (born on April 29, 1919) is an American stage, film, and television actress.
She is perhaps best remembered for her Academy Award-winning role in Gentleman's Agreement (1947), as well as for her Oscar-nominated performance in All About Eve (1950).
Early life
Born in New York City, Holm was an only child. Her mother, Jean Parke, was an American portrait artist and author, while her father, Theodor Holm, was a Norwegian insurance adjuster for Lloyd's of London. Holm studied acting at the University of Chicago before becoming a stage actress in the late 1930s.
Career
Her first professional theatrical role was in a production of Hamlet starring Leslie Howard, and Holm quickly rose to prominence with her portrayal of "Ado Annie" in the original Broadway production of Oklahoma! in 1943.
After starring in the Broadway production of Bloomer Girl, 20th Century Fox signed Holm to a movie contract in 1946, and in her first two years as a film actress Holm cemented herself immediately as a formidable performer, especially when winning her Oscar and Golden Globe for best supporting actress in Gentleman's Agreement. After her famous performance in All About Eve, however, Holm realized she preferred working in live theater than on movie sets, and took on very few filmed roles over the following decade. The most successful of these was in the 1956 musical, High Society, in which she duetted with Frank Sinatra.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Holm returned more fully to screen acting, with roles in films such as Three Men and a Baby and in television series (often as a guest star) such as Columbo and Falcon Crest.
In the 1990s, Holm was a series regular on the ABC Soap Opera Loving (1991-1992) and the CBS Primetime Series Promised Land (1996-1999).
Celeste Holm has received many honors in her lifetime: the 1968 Sarah Siddons Award for distinguished achievement in Chicago theatre, she was appointed to the National Arts Council by then-President Ronald Reagan, knighted by King Olav of Norway, and inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1992. She remains active for social causes as a spokesperson for UNICEF, and for occasional professional engagements.
Private life
Holm married Ralph Nelson in 1938. Their son, Ted Nelson, is the co-creator of Hypertext.
She married Francis E. Davies, a Roman Catholic (for whom she was received into the Roman Catholic church for the purposes of their wedding) in 1940, but they divorced shortly thereafter.
From 1942 until 1952, she was married to airline executive A. Schuyler Dunning, with whom she had a second son, Daniel Dunning.
Holm was married for thirty years from 1966 until 1996 to fellow actor Wesley Addy. They had no children.
On April 29, 2004, on her 85th birthday, she married a 41 year-old opera singer, Frank Basile.[1]
In 2006, Holm was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the SunDeis Film Festival at Brandeis University.[2]
As of 2006 she is the oldest living actress, who got the Academy Award For Best Supporting Actress in 1947.
External links
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