Jean Arthur
Known for: Acting
Jean Arthur (born Gladys Georgianna Greene; October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American actress celebrated as one of the defining screen personalities of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Known for her quick wit, expressive voice, and understated charm, she became one of the era’s most beloved comedic leading ladies, especially in the screwball comedy genre. Film historian James Harvey noted that “no one was more closely identified with the screwball comedy than Jean Arthur,” and her work remains central to the style’s legacy. Arthur rose to prominence in the mid‑1930s and became best known for her collaborations with director Frank Capra, starring in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), You Can’t Take It with You (1938), and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). These films cemented her image as the relatable, spirited heroine of Depression‑era American cinema. She earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her performance in The More the Merrier (1943). Although she famously disliked the pressures of Hollywood and often retreated from public life, Arthur continued to work selectively after the 1940s. She delivered a memorable dramatic turn as Marian Starrett in George Stevens’ classic Western Shane (1953). She later returned to acting on television, appearing in a 1965 episode of Gunsmoke and starring in the 1966 sitcom The Jean Arthur Show. After leaving acting, Arthur taught drama at Vassar College and the North Carolina School of the Arts, where students remembered her as a passionate and generous instructor. She lived a largely private life in her later years and died in 1991 at the age of 90.
Filmography
Series
Gunsmoke
Julie Blane
1955
Film
Shane
Marian Starrett
1953
Film
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Clarissa Saunders
1939
Film
You Can't Take It with You
Alice Sycamore
1938
Film
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Babe Bennett
1936
Film
History Is Made at Night
Irene Vail
1937
Film
Arizona
Phoebe Titus
1940
Film
Only Angels Have Wings
Bonnie Lee
1939
Series
The Jean Arthur Show
1966
Film
The Talk of the Town
Nora Shelley
1942
Film
The More the Merrier
Constance Milligan
1943
Film
A Foreign Affair
Congresswoman Phoebe Frost
1948
Film
Virtuous Husband
Barbara Olwell
1931
Film
The Plainsman
Calamity Jane
1936
Film
A Lady Takes a Chance
Molly J. Truesdale
1943
Film
The Devil and Miss Jones
Mary Jones
1941
Film
Warming Up
Mary Post
1928
Film
If You Could Only Cook
Joan Hawthorne
1935
Film
The Ex-Mrs. Bradford
Paula Bradford
1936
Film
Easy Living
Mary Smith
1937
Film
The Whole Town's Talking
Wilhelmina 'Bill' Clark
1935
Film
Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)
Self
1936
Film
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
Self (archive footage)
1988
Film
George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey
(archive footage)
1985
Film
The Iron Horse
Reporter (uncredited)
1925
Film
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
Self - Actress 'Gone with the Wind' screen test (archive footage) (uncredited)
1961
Film
Going Hollywood: The '30s
(archive footage)
1984
Film
Seven Chances
Miss Smith the Country Club Receptionist (uncredited)
1925
Film
Becoming Cary Grant
Self (archive footage)
2017
Film
Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel
Self (archive footage)
2001
Film
Most Precious Thing in Life
Ellen Holmes, aka Biddy, Babe
1934
Film
More Than a Secretary
Carol Baldwin
1936
Film
The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu
Lia Eltham
1929
Film
The Saturday Night Kid
Janie Barry
1929
Film
Double Daring
Marie Wells
1926
Film
The Defense Rests
Joan Hayes
1934
Film
The Lawyer's Secret
Beatrice Stevens
1931
Film
The Canary Murder Case
Alice LaFosse
1929
Film
The Past of Mary Holmes
Joan Hoyt
1933
Film
Too Many Husbands
Vicky Lowndes
1940
Film
Clara Bow: Discovering the "It" Girl
Self (from The Saturday Night Kid [1929]) (archive footage)
1999
Film
Public Hero Number 1
Maria Theresa 'Terry' O'Reilly
1935
Film
Thundering Romance
Mary Watkins
1924
Film
The Greene Murder Case
Ada Greene
1929
Thundering Through
Ruth Burroughs
1925
Film
Gary Cooper: The Face of a Hero
Self (archive footage)
1998
Film
Half Way to Heaven
Greta Nelson
1929
Film
Hello Lafayette
1927
Film
Paramount on Parade
Dream Girl
1930
Film
Winners of the Wilderness
Bit Role (uncredited)
1927
Film
Bigger and Better Blondes
Ramona
1927
Film
Frank Capra Jr. Remembers... You Can't Take It with You
Self (archive footage)
2008
Film
The Drug Store Cowboy
Jean
1925
Film
Brotherly Love
Mary
1928
Film
Sins of the Fathers
Mary Spengler
1928
Film
The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu
Lia Eltham
1930
Case Dismissed
Jean
1924
Film
Bringin' Home the Bacon
Nancy Norton
1924
Film
Horse Shoes
Miss Baker
1927
Film
Diamond Jim
Jane Matthews / Emma
1935
Screen Snapshots Series 19, No. 1
Self
1939
Film
Ex-Bad Boy
Ethel Simmons
1931
Twisted Triggers
Ruth Regan
1926
Film
Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 12
Jean Arthur
1938
Travelin' Fast
Betty Conway
1924
Film
The Broken Gate
Ruth Hale
1927
Ridin' Rivals
Ruth Burroghs
1926
Film
Street of Chance
Judith Marsden
1930
Film
Adventure in Manhattan
Claire Peyton
1936
Film
Get That Venus
Margaret Rendleby
1933
Film
The Impatient Years
Janie Anderson
1944
Film
Yesterday and Today
(archive footage)
1953
Film
Cameo Kirby
Ann Playdell
1923
Film
A Man of Nerve
Loria Gatlin
1925
Somebody Lied
1923
Film
Whirlpool
Sandy
1934
Film
Party Wire
Marge Oliver
1935
Film
Wine of Youth
Flapper
1924
The Mad Racer
1926
Film
The Gang Buster
Sylvia Martine
1931
Monks a la mode
Madame Maxine
1923
Film
Danger Lights
Mary Ryan
1931
Film
Stairs of Sand
Ruth Hutt
1929
Film
The Silver Horde
Mildred Wayland
1930
Film
Born to Battle
Eunice Morgan
1926
Film
The College Boob
Angela Boothby
1926
Film
The Fighting Smile
Rose Craddock
1925
Film
Young Eagles
Mary Gordon
1930
Film
The Block Signal
Grace Ryan
1926
Film
The Public Menace
Cassie Nicholls
1935
The Fighting Cheat
Ruth Wells
1926
Film
The Cowboy Cop
Virginia Selby
1926
Film
Fast and Fearless
Mary Brown
1924
Film
Wallflowers
Sandra
1928
Film
Tearin' Loose
Sally Harris
1925
Film
Flying Luck
The Girl
1927
Film
The Masked Menace
Faith Newton
1927
Film
Biff Bang Buddy
Bonnie Norton
1924
The Roaring Rider
Mary Watkins
1926
The Poor Nut
Margie Blake
1927
Lightning Bill
Marie Denton
1926
Under Fire
Margaret Cranston
1926
The Powerful Eye
Dud's Sweetheart
1924
The Hurricane Horseman
June Mathews
1925
Film
Husband Hunters
Lettie Crane
1927
Film
Spring Fever
1923
Eight-Cylinder Bull
1926