Celeste Holm | |
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Celeste in 1955
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Born |
New York City, New York, U.S. |
April 29, 1917
Died | July 15, 2012 New York City, New York, U.S. |
(aged 95)
Cause of death | Heart attack |
Alma mater | University of Chicago |
Occupation | Actress, singer |
Years active | 1937–2012 |
Spouse(s) |
Ralph Nelson (m. 1936–1939; divorced) Francis Davies (m. 1940–1945; divorced) A. Schuyler Dunning (m. 1946–1953; divorced) Wesley Addy (m. 1961–1996; his death) Frank Basile (m. 2004–2012; her death) |
Children | 2 |
Parent(s) | Theodor Holm Jean Parke |
Website | Celeste Holm Official Website |
Celeste Holm (April 29, 1917 – July 15, 2012) was an American stage, film and television actress.
Holm won an Academy Award for her performance in Gentleman's Agreement (1947), and was Oscar nominated for her roles in Come to the Stable (1949) and All About Eve (1950). She originated the role of Ado Annie in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma! (1943).
Born and raised in Manhattan, Holm was an only child. Her mother, Jean Parke, was an American portrait artist and author; her father, Theodor Holm, was a Norwegian businessman whose company provided marine adjustment services for Lloyd's of London. Because of her parents' occupations, she traveled often during her youth and attended various schools in the Netherlands, France and the United States. She graduated from University School for Girls in Chicago, where she performed in many school stage productions. She then studied drama at the University of Chicago before becoming a stage actress in the late 1930s.
Holm's first professional theatrical role was in a production of Hamlet starring Leslie Howard. She first appeared on Broadway in a small part in Gloriana (1938), a comedy which lasted for only five performances, but her first major part on Broadway was in William Saroyan's revival of The Time of Your Life (1940) as Mary L. with fellow newcomer Gene Kelly. The role that got her the most recognition from critics and audiences was as Ado Annie in the premiere production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! in 1943.