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Clara Bow was an American actress who rose to stardom in silent film during the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" in 1929. Her appearance as a plucky shop girl in the film It brought her global fame and the nickname "The It Girl". Clara eventually came to personify the Roaring Twenties and is often considered to have been the leading sex symbol of her generation.
Clara was born 29 Jul 1905, in Brooklyn, New York. She was the daughter of Robert Bow and Sarah Gordon.[1][2][3] Clara suffered a traumatic childhood, with an abusive father who often left the home for long periods of time, and a mother who suffered from severe mental disorders. [4]
Clara took to watching movies as an escape from the horrors of home and eventually dropped out of school. At 16, she entered a magazine's beauty contest and won a small part in the film Beyond the Rainbow (1922), although her scenes were initially cut. Even while facing resistance, Clara persevered, continuing to audition at New York studios. She eventually received a part in the film Down to the Sea in Ships (1922).[5]
Over the course of her career, Clara appeared in 46 silent films and 11 talkies, including hits such as Mantrap (1926), It (1927), and Wings (1927) - winner of the very Academy Award for Best Picture. A tp box-office draw, her presence in a motion picture was said to have ensured investors of a safe return by odds of almost two-to-one. At the apex of her stardom, she received more than 45,000 fan letters in a single month (January 1929)."[6]
Clara married actor Rex Bell, 3 Dec 1931, in Las Vegas, Nevada.[7] the couple settled on a 6000 acre ranch in Nevada. Two years later, Clara retired from acting to begin raising a family. Her final film, Hoop-La, was released in 1933. Together Clara and Rex had two children. Her final film, Hoop-La, was released in 1933. The couple had two children.[8][9]
Clara died of a heart attack, 27 Sep 1965, in Culver City, California. She was sixty years old..[10] Her remains were interred in the Freedom Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Heritage at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.[11]
In 1994, the US Postal Service isssued a stamp in her honor[12].
This week's featured connections are Redheads: Clara is 18 degrees from Catherine of Aragón, 27 degrees from Julia Gillard, 18 degrees from Nancy Hart, 15 degrees from Rutherford Hayes, 18 degrees from Rita Hayworth, 21 degrees from Leonard Kelly, 22 degrees from Rose Leslie, 21 degrees from Damian Lewis, 19 degrees from Maureen O'Hara, 27 degrees from Jopie Schaft and 36 degrees from Eirik Thorvaldsson on our single family tree. Login to see how you relate to 33 million family members.