Clara Bow

Clara Bow

1905-07-29 – 1965-09-27 (age 60) Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
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Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Clara Gordon Bow (July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom in silent films during the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" after 1927. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the film It brought her global fame and the nickname "The It Girl". Bow came to personify the Roaring Twenties and is described as its leading sex symbol.

Bow appeared in 46 silent films and 11 talkies, including hits such as Mantrap (1926), It (1927), and Wings (1927). She was named first box-office draw in 1928 and 1929 and second box-office draw in 1927 and 1930. Her presence in a motion picture was said to have ensured investors, by odds of almost two-to-one, a "safe return". At the apex of her stardom, she received more than 45,000 fan letters in a single month (January 1929).

Two years after marrying actor Rex Bell in 1931, Bow retired from acting and became a rancher in Nevada. Her final film, Hoop-La, was released in 1933. In September 1965, Bow died of a heart attack at the age of 60.

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Known For

Three Week Ends
Three Week Ends

1928

as Gladys O'Brien

Hodgepodge
Hodgepodge

2025

as Self (archive footage, as Mary Preston)

Wings
Wings

1927

as Mary Preston

Hoopla
Hoopla

1933

as Lou

Hula
Hula

1927

as Hula Calhoun

Kid Boots
Kid Boots

1926

as Clara McCoy

Wine
Wine

1924

as Angela Warriner

It
It

1927

as Betty Lou Spence

Call Her Savage
Call Her Savage

1932

as Nasa Springer

Paramount on Parade
Paramount on Parade

1930

as Herself

Ladies of the Mob
Ladies of the Mob

1928

as Yvonne

Rough House Rosie
Rough House Rosie

1927

as Rosie O'Reilly

Down to the Sea in Ships
Down to the Sea in Ships

1922

as 'Dot' Morgan

Her Wedding Night
Her Wedding Night

1930

as Norma Martin

The Casting Couch
My Lady's Lips
My Lady's Lips

1925

as Lola Lombard

This Woman
This Woman

1924

as Aline Sturdevant

Two Can Play
Two Can Play

1926

as Dorothy Hammis

Eve's Lover
Eve's Lover

1925

as Rena D'Arcy