The famous actress Loretta Young was called a style icon, a model of femininity and beauty. She has performed more than a hundred leading roles, won an Oscar and an Emmy.
Loretta Young is considered the standard of elegance and luxury in Hollywood. The gentle and sensual actress remains a favorite of many viewers. However, few people know what was hidden behind the charming smiles of the film star.
Good start
On January 6, 1913, a girl was born in Salt Lake City. At birth she was named Gretchen. In the movie, the child made his debut at the age of one. Intensive filming began at the age of three.
The two older sisters of the baby were also successfully involved in film activities. However, only Gretchen managed to become famous. The mother broke up with her father and began to organize a new family. For two years, Gretchen lived with Mae Murray, a silent film star. She dreamed of adopting a baby and preparing a worthy successor from her.
After one of the best boarding houses in a Catholic monastery, fourteen-year-old Young returned to the film world. She starred in the 1927 film Naughty But Sweet. This picture is called the initial one in her career.
After signing a contract with Warner Bros., the girl went from blonde to brown-haired and became Loretta. Impeccable beauty and originality helped the aspiring performer to quickly become a leading actress.
In Hollywood, she was offered the images of easily vulnerable, sophisticated and gentle heroines.
Recognition and success
For fans, it was a real shock to hear about the escape of the favorite in 1930.
The seventeen-year-old beauty began an affair with her partner in the film "Mystery of the Second Floor" Grant Wither, who was almost ten years older than her.
Another shock for Hollywood was their marriage. However, it soon became clear that the ceremony was invalid, since the previous marriage had not been dissolved.
So after the painting "Too Young for Marriage" Loretta's dreams of an ideal lover were shattered. The shock turned out to be so great that the girl went into work with her head.
Young starred in at least six films a year. She quickly became everyone's favorite. In 1935, the singer parted ways with the Warner Brothers film studio.
She moved to Fox. There, Loretta took part in the filming of "Call of the Wild." In the forties, a new round of Young's career began. Increasingly, the performer of the roles of pretty girls began to offer characteristic characters.
Loretta was involved in their works by renowned masters Orson Welles, John Ford. In 1947, work began on the painting The Farmer's Daughter. According to his story, the daughter of a poor emigrant from Sweden became a member of the congress.
The work brought the coveted statuette to the performer. Simultaneously, a company started with Carrie Grant and David Niven at The Bishop's Wife. The painting became the favorite of the Americans. It is constantly shown on Christmas Day.
TV activities
A couple of years later, Young was nominated for an Oscar. However, the prize went to Olivia de Havilland. Unexpectedly for everyone, in 1953, Loretta announced that she was leaving the film world.
The final picture was "It Happens Every Thursday." The performer began working on television. There has never been such an event. For the first time, a megastar has replaced the crowded halls with a TV screen.
The star founded her own program, The Loretta Young Show. It ran on NBC for eight years with extraordinary success. For her work, the actress received three Emmy and Golden Globe awards.
The program became a record holder: not a single TV show went on for so long. Fashion and glamor became the main components of the program. The presenter taught women science to conquer men's hearts.
Each broadcast began with a spectacular release of the actress in flowing clothes. The program ceased to exist in 1963. Loretta went into charity work.
But in the eighties, she returned to the screen again. The final output was the work in the films "Lady in the Corner" in 1989 and "Eve's Christmas" in 1990. The performer was awarded two more "Golden Globes" for her excellent performance.
Private life
Loretta was able to establish her personal life. In 1940 she became the wife of producer Tom Lewis. Two sons appeared in the marriage. Subsequently, Christopher Lewis became a director, and Peter Charles chose the path of a singer-songwriter. He was the founder of the "Moby Grape" group.
The surname of the mother's husband was given to the daughter of the first beauty of Hollywood and Clark Gable, Julia. The girl did not know for a long time that she was the actress's own daughter. She was always told that she was adopted, and her parents died in a plane crash.
Julia learned the truth when she became an adult. For everyone, Young adopted the girl when she realized that she was tired of living alone. It was believed that two children were adopted, but one was taken by a biological mother who had changed his mind.
She starred in several TV series, played in Broadway productions, and produced several musicals. However, she always remembered that the mother was constantly busy and could not pay attention to the child. Therefore, Lewis left the acting profession and entered the university in 1985, becoming after him a bachelor of clinical psychology.
In 1963, the marriage of Loretta and Tom Lewis broke up. By 1993, Hollywood was talking about her again. The gorgeous actress remarried. Her chosen one was the famous couturier Jean Louis, who created costumes for Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth and other film stars.
In 1990, the magnificent artist became a great-grandmother. Her great-grandson was given to her by her granddaughter Maria, daughter of Julia. After the death of her husband in 1997, the celebrity settled with her younger sister.
The famous performer died of illness in 2000.
For her filmmaking and television work, Loretta Young has been honored with two named stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
