When the Gossip Hit Home
Let me tell you a story about Claudette Colbert, one of Hollywood's most dazzling stars. Imagine this: Claudette, with her striking black eyes and infectious laugh, hears some juicy gossip about her love life. And guess what? She’s completely taken aback.
“She screamed!” her friend, the novelist Lenora Hornblow, remembered vividly. “She said, ‘I thought everyone knew I liked men!’” Can you picture the scene? Claudette, this glamorous icon, reacting with sheer disbelief to the rumors swirling around her. That’s the kind of reaction that sticks with you, right?
Golden Age Stardom: The Rise of Claudette Colbert
In the 1930s, Claudette Colbert was the epitome of Hollywood glamour. Her jet-black hair, radiant smile, and those incredible legs made her a superstar during the Golden Age of cinema. Let me paint a clearer picture for you. At one point, this twice-married actress earned more in a single year than almost anyone in Hollywood, except for the bigwig at MGM, Louis B. Mayer. That’s some serious earning power, folks.
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When I think of Claudette Colbert, I can’t help but think of champagne bubbles. That’s how Bernard F. Dick, author of Claudette Colbert: She Walked in Beauty, describes her in an exclusive interview with Closer. “She had a natural effervescence,” he says. Doesn’t that just capture her essence perfectly? This woman was a force to be reckoned with, both on and off the screen.
Behind the Glamour: The Struggles of an Independent Woman
But here’s the thing: despite her undeniable charm and success, Claudette spent years grappling with a very personal challenge. You see, this actress, who had immigrated to the U.S. from France as a child, was constantly trying to break free from her mother’s iron grip. It’s a struggle that many can relate to, isn’t it?
“Claudette looked like and acted like an independent woman, but she was very much under her mother’s control,” Dick explains. It’s a fascinating contradiction. Here’s a woman who could captivate audiences worldwide, yet she was still wrestling with the constraints of her own family dynamics.
The Turbulent First Marriage
Her mother, Jeanne, was nothing short of possessive, and her influence had a profound impact on Claudette’s first marriage. Jeanne managed to dismantle Claudette’s union with young actor Norman Foster. “I was so terrified of my mother’s disapproval, I kept the marriage a secret,” Claudette confessed. Can you imagine living under that kind of pressure? For seven long years, Claudette continued to sleep under her mother’s roof while Norman lived elsewhere. This arrangement not only sabotaged their marriage but also fueled endless speculation.
“Once word got out they had separate residences, people jumped to all kinds of strange conclusions,” says Dick. It’s a reminder that even the most private moments can become public spectacle in the world of Hollywood.
A New Chapter: Love and Independence
Claudette eventually found love again with Joel Pressman, a physician. Shortly after her divorce was finalized, she married Joel and finally gathered the courage to move her mother into her own house. It was a significant step toward independence, and it marked a new chapter in her life.
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“She kept her mother very expensively, with a car and driver,” her friend Helen O’Hagan noted. But despite her financial generosity, Claudette’s second marriage had its own set of challenges. She mourned the fact that she and Joel couldn’t have children together.
Career demands often kept Claudette and Joel apart, which left the actress, who feared being alone, leaning heavily on her friends. “All those years living with her mother made her incapable of solitude,” French playwright Pierre Barillet observed. It’s a poignant reminder of how deeply personal experiences can shape our lives.
Rumors and Relationships
Claudette’s long-term friendship with painter Verna Hull attracted its fair share of rumors, especially when Verna bought the house next door to Claudette and Joel’s in Barbados. “They liked to paint together,” Dick explains, “but Verna had an obsession with Claudette, and eventually Joel couldn’t take it any longer.” The friendship ended when the couple built a wall between their properties.
Her bond with Helen, a PR executive for Saks Fifth Avenue, offered a more supportive companionship, especially after Joel’s death in 1968. There were whispers about the nature of their relationship, but Helen laughed them off. “There was a 27-year age difference between us. So, I was like her daughter,” Helen said. In fact, she quit her job to help Claudette manage her life after a stroke in 1993.
“Claudette lived a very good life,” Dick concludes. “She referred to the rumors she was a lesbian as the ‘stigma.’” But here’s the thing: Claudette never let those whispers define her. She lived life on her own terms, and that’s a legacy worth celebrating.
