Jeanette MacDonald

Stars

Born June 18, 1903 in Philadelphia, PA

Died Jan. 14, 1965 of heart failure in Methodist Hospital, TX

Jeanette MacDonald was a famed red-haired singing star, often acclaimed as one of Hollywood's truly great ladies because her career never had been blemished by scandal. She is remembered best as the screen partner of Nelson Eddy.

MGM teamed them in 1934 in "Naughty Marietta," and the public clamored for more.

In the seven years that followed, they were paired romantically in seven more movies, "Rose Marie," "Maytime," "Girl of the Golden West," "Sweethearts," "New Moon," "Bittersweet" and "I Married an Angel."

MacDonald made her first professional stage appearance at the Capital Theater in New York in 1920 in "The Demi-Tass Revue."

She worked her way up from the chorus to starring roles on Broadway. In 1928, while she was appearing in "Angela," actor Richard Dix saw her performance and was entranced. He persuaded her to take a screen test.

A year later, director Ernst Lubitsch chose her to play the queen opposite Maurice Chevalier in "The Love Parade."

MacDonald followed this with "The Vagabond King" with Dennis King, "Let's Go Native" with Jack Oakie, "Monte Carlo" with Jack Buchanan, "The Lottery Bride" with John Garrick, "All for a Man" with Reginald Denny, "Don't Bet on Women" with Edmund Lowe and Roland Young, "Annabelle's Affairs" with Victor McLaglen, "One Hour With You" and "Love Me Tonight" both with Chevalier, "The Cat and the Fiddle" with Ramon Novarro, then "The Merry Widow," again with Chevalier.

MacDonald appeared in motion pictures and stage plays. She sang concerts, recitals and grand opera. She did recordings and went on radio and TV. She made several appearances in Las Vegas.

— Charles E. Davis Jr. in the Los Angeles Times Jan. 15, 1965

Related stars

Clark Gable
Costar
Nelson Eddy
Costar
Rouben Mamoulian
Director
Ernst Lubitsch
Director
Gene Raymond
Husband

Points of interest

20 thoughts about Jeanette MacDonald

“

Jeanette Anna Macdonald was born to sing and dance and act
she was a beauty with a voice that was lyrical as a soprano and would have been perfect for European opera at that time.
She had a very bright career ahead solo, but when she was paired with golden baritone Nelson Eddy ,the magic began.
there was/is nothing to compare with the magic of the beauty and the baritone in their 8 films together.
no other voices blended so perfectly and their chemistry was undefinable ,
folks from every boro and city lined up around blocks to see their movies 'as they did become america's singing sweethearts.
Jeanette was nicknamed the Iron Butterfly" due to her business and career sense.
Jeanette and Nelson's names will be forever linked together by the beauty , charm, and talent they had .
Jeanette MacDonald was unique and so often forgotten, due to her passing so soon-as written in the L>A> times when she passed"the song has ended"

” — bernadette schwartz, March 16, 2010 at 4:17 p.m.

“

During the 1930s and early 1940s, Jeanette MacDonald reigned as undisputed queen of the musical screen, starring in some of MGM's top-grossing films, including "Naughty Marietta," "Rose Marie," and "San Francisco." The only classically trained soprano to make the annual list of the top ten box office stars (1936), she also toured for many years on the concert stage, appeared as guest soloist with major symphony orchestras, and starred in grand opera. In her last film, "The Sun Comes UP" (released 1949), she sang the best "Un Bel Di" on a movie soundtrack. In 1934 she earned a star (with co-star Maurice Chevalier) on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. No other screen star since has matched Jeanette's accomplishments, either artistically or commercially.

” — Stephen L. Harris, March 17, 2010 at 4:02 p.m.

“

I will be just 30 years old this year - far too young to say I was around when Jeanette was. But my parents raised me on Jeanette's movies. I recall watching Jeanette and Nelson from a very early age and very quickly I knew all their films and songs. They each had marvelous voices, true star quality and such a rare chemistry together. Jeanette embodied grace. She was known world-wide and was incredibly generous and active with war efforts. She truly deserves her star on the walk of fame. She made a name for herself through actual talent and not through scandal like so many of today's stars. She was a true lady & an irreplaceable screen icon. I will love the movies she & Nelson made forever.

” — Marie Bernard-Cook, March 19, 2010 at 9:36 a.m.

“

The lovely star Jeanette MacDonald deserves her two stars on The Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was a beautiful red head at the top of MGM's studio of stars in the 1930's and 40's and her career spanned the great changes wrought in the movie business during the "Golden Age" of Hollywood. Her co-stars included Clark Gable and Maurice Chevallier but she was most remembered for her liason with the baritone Nelson Eddy in such movies as "RoseMarie" and "Maytime". She began singing at the age of three and by her early teens was performing on stage in New York. From there she went into movies and thus began one of the silver screen's most endearing partnerships with Nelson Eddy. Their voices blended perfectly and are still revered by millions today. Her music, solo and together with Nelson are easily available today and America's "Singing Sweethearts" will never be forgotten while there are clubs like the Mac/Eddy group to remember them.

” — Anne Billingsley, March 19, 2010 at 2:13 p.m.

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