Loretta Young

Loretta Young
AFP

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Loretta Young
Film: South side of the 6100 block of Hollywood Boulevard
Loretta Young
TV: North side of the 6100 block of Hollywood Boulevard
Actress
Born Gretchen Michaela Young on Jan. 6, 1913 in Salt Lake City, UT
Died Aug. 12, 2000 of ovarian cancer in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Loretta Young's gritty determination to be a star — and her hard-headed business sense — kept her in front of the cameras for decades after most stars from Hollywood's Golden Age had faded into nostalgia. Gliding easily from silent films to talkies to television, the ever-slim and smiling Young delighted fans with her luminous eyes, wistful face and elaborate wardrobes.

She made nearly 100 movies, churning out mainly comedies and romances until she left the wide screen for television in 1953. Young played opposite all the romantic heroes of her day: Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Gary Cooper, James Cagney, Tyrone Power. She acted for famed directors Orson Welles ("The Stranger"), Cecil B. DeMille ("The Crusades") and Frank Capra ("Platinum Blonde").

Her lead role in 1947's "The Farmer's Daughter"—as a Swedish maid who parlays her smarts into a seat in Congress—won her the Academy Award for lead actress. And she became one of the first Oscar winners to pull in a television Emmy in 1955, when she was honored for her anthology series, "The Loretta Young Show."

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    Academy Awards

    Year Category Work
    1947 Best Actress The Farmer's Daughter Win
    1949 Best Actress Come to the Stable Nomination

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