Gloria Swanson

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Gloria Swanson (March 27, 1899 – April 4, 1983) was an American actress. She was most prominent during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille. She was also one of the first stars to challenge the Hays Code by producing the banned Sadie Thompson in 1928. In 1929 Swanson successfully transitioned to talkies with, The Trespasser. However, personal problems and changing tastes saw her popularity wane during the 1930s. Today she is best known for her role as Norma Desmond in the film Sunset Boulevard (1950).

Photo & mini biography source: wikipedia.org

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Gloria Swanson went to public schools in Chicago; Key West, Florida; and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Her film debut was as an extra in The Fable of Elvira and Farina and the Meal Ticket (1915). From the following year on, she had leading roles in pictures for Keystone, then a year with Triangle, and, in 1919, a contract with Cecil B. DeMille. DeMille transformed her from a typical Mack Sennett comedienne into a lively, provocative, even predatory, star. She collected husbands (e.g., the indigent Henri de la Falaise) and lovers (e.g., Joseph P. Kennedy, father of former President John F. Kennedy). Kennedy produced her Queen Kelly (1929), directed by Erich von Stroheim (it was von Stroheim's copy of this film that Swanson was watching as Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd. (1950) when she leaped into the projection beam shouting, "Have they forgotten what a star looks like? I'll be up there again, so help me!"--ironic in that the butler-projectionist was, again, von Stroheim). She survived the switch to talkies, even learning how to sing for Music in the Air (1934), but her kinds of films were over with by that time. She returned to the stage in the 1940s ("Reflected Glory," "Let us Be Gay," "A Goose for a Gander"). She was a clothes designer and artist; she founded Essence of Nature Cosmetics; and she made television appearances through the 1960s and 1970s, doing cameos and pushing health foods. She received Best Actress nominations for Sadie Thompson (1928), The Trespasser (1929) and Sunset Blvd. (1950).

Source: Corbis.com and imdb.com

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Source: wikipedia.org

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Gloria Swanson in 1921

Source: wikipedia.org

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Gloria Swanson in a frame or production still from the 1920 film Why Change Your Wife?.

Source: wikipedia.org

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Gloria Swanson Wearing Hat
The American actress Gloria Swanson starring in the 1928 dramatic film, Sadie Thompson, based on a story by the W. Somerset Maugham.

Source: corbis.com

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Gloria Swanson Standing With Her Husband
Original caption: Branding as ridiculous the report that she was soon to become a mother, Gloria Swanson and her husband the Marquis de la Palaise returned to New York as shown on the S.S. Kroonland. Gloria was carrying a muff, one of the first to reappear at fashion's decree.
IMAGE: © Bettmann/CORBIS
DATE PHOTOGRAPHED: January 27, 1926

Source: corbis.com

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Gloria Swanson dressed by [Coco] Chanel for Tonight or Never, 1931

Scanned by Flyme2themoon from Couture: The Great Fashion Designers by Caroline Rennolds Milbank

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Portrait of Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson in still from Airport 1975.
IMAGE:© Bettmann/CORBIS
DATE PHOTOGRAPHED: 1974

Source: corbis.com

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1930's photo of Gloria:


Source: corbis.com

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Portrait of Gloria Swanson
Original caption: Gloria Swanson, star of recent "Sunset Boulevard" was another star among the scores who attended the benefit show for French polio victims, with Marlene Dietrich as one of the top performers.
IMAGE: © Bettmann/CORBIS
DATE PHOTOGRAPHED: August 19, 1954
LOCATION: Monte Carlo, Monaco

Source: corbis.com

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Original caption: Gloria Swanson, silent movie star, in scene from Her Gilded Cage.
IMAGE:© Bettmann/CORBIS
DATE PHOTOGRAPHED: ca. 1920

Source: corbis.com

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Gloria Swanson with Flower Man
Original caption: Rome: A Whiff Of Rome. Actress Gloria Swanson, enjoying a short stay in the Italian capitol, stops to admire some choice blooms offered for sale by a vendor at the foot of Rome's famous Spanish steps, during a sightseeing tour of the city. Miss Swanson, who heads a dressmaking establishment is in Italy to absorb the Italian influence in styles.
IMAGE: © Bettmann/CORBIS
DATE PHOTOGRAPHED: August 04, 1955
LOCATION: Rome, Italy

Source: corbis.com

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Original caption: Actress-columnist-dress designer Gloria Swanson models her latest contribution to the fashion world, a pale beige shantung sheath with a side slit. Highlight of the ensemble is an authentic Japanese obi, a wide sash with a huge bustle-bow at the back. Cherry blossoms and a "coolie"-type hat carry out the Eastern motif. Miss Swanson is in Monaco to cover the Prince Rainier III-Grace Kelly wedding for the United Press.
IMAGE: © Bettmann/CORBIS
DATE PHOTOGRAPHED: April 09, 1956
LOCATION: Monaco

Source: corbis.com

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Gloria Swanson, Charles Chaplin and Marion Davies at the premiere of City Lights in Los Angeles on 30 January 1931.

Source: chaplin.bfi.org.uk