Cast
Jean Arthur
Acting
Cast
Jean Arthur
Known for
Acting
Born
1900-10-17
From
Plattsburgh, New York, USA
Died
1991-06-19
Also known as Gladys Georgianna Greene
Biography
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.
Shane
as Marian Starrett
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
as Clarissa Saunders
Seven Chances
as Miss Smith the Country Club Receptionist (uncredited)
Whirlpool
as Sandy
The Plainsman
as Calamity Jane
You Can't Take It with You
as Alice Sycamore
Only Angels Have Wings
as Bonnie Lee
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
as Babe Bennett
The More the Merrier
as Constance Milligan
History Is Made at Night
as Irene Vail
The Talk of the Town
as Nora Shelley
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
as Self (archive footage)
The Whole Town's Talking
as Wilhelmina 'Bill' Clark
A Foreign Affair
as Congresswoman Phoebe Frost
The Devil and Miss Jones
as Mary Jones
Wallflowers
as Sandra
Arizona
as Phoebe Titus
Easy Living
as Mary Smith
The Iron Horse
as Reporter (uncredited)
Diamond Jim
as Jane Matthews / Emma
Young Eagles
as Mary Gordon
The Defense Rests
as Joan Hayes
A Lady Takes a Chance
as Molly J. Truesdale
Danger Lights
as Mary Ryan
More Than a Secretary
as Carol Baldwin
Gary Cooper: The Face of a Hero
as Self (archive footage)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
as (archive footage)
Spring Fever
The Past of Mary Holmes
as Joan Hoyt
Clara Bow: Discovering the "It" Girl
as Self (from The Saturday Night Kid [1929]) (archive footage)
Public Hero Number 1
as Maria Theresa 'Terry' O'Reilly
If You Could Only Cook
as Joan Hawthorne
Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)
as Self
The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu
as Lia Eltham
Adventure in Manhattan
as Claire Peyton
Becoming Cary Grant
as Self (archive footage)
The Ex-Mrs. Bradford
as Paula Bradford
The Greene Murder Case
as Ada Greene
Virtuous Husband
as Barbara Olwell
The Canary Murder Case
as Alice LaFosse
Street of Chance
as Judith Marsden
Travelin' Fast
as Betty Conway
Cameo Kirby
as Ann Playdell
Too Many Husbands
as Vicky Lowndes
Paramount on Parade
as Dream Girl
Double Daring
as Marie Wells
Get That Venus
as Margaret Rendleby
Wine of Youth
as Flapper
Flying Luck
as The Girl
Stairs of Sand
as Ruth Hutt
The Gang Buster
as Sylvia Martine
Case Dismissed
as Jean
Frank Capra Jr. Remembers... You Can't Take It with You
as Self (archive footage)
The Silver Horde
as Mildred Wayland
The Lawyer's Secret
as Beatrice Stevens
The Masked Menace
as Faith Newton
The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu
as Lia Eltham
Husband Hunters
as Lettie Crane
Lightning Bill
as Marie Denton
Half Way to Heaven
as Greta Nelson
Bigger and Better Blondes
as Ramona
Party Wire
as Marge Oliver
Brotherly Love
as Mary
Twisted Triggers
as Ruth Regan
The Saturday Night Kid
as Janie Barry
The Impatient Years
as Janie Anderson
Born to Battle
as Eunice Morgan
The Cowboy Cop
as Virginia Selby
Most Precious Thing in Life
as Ellen Holmes, aka Biddy, Babe
Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 12
as Jean Arthur
The Broken Gate
as Ruth Hale
Winners Of The Wilderness
as Bit Role (uncredited)
Eight-Cylinder Bull
Bringin' Home the Bacon
as Nancy Norton
The Poor Nut
as Margie Blake
Horse Shoes
as Miss Baker
Fast and Fearless
as Mary Brown
Thundering Romance
as Mary Watkins
Warming Up
as Mary Post
Tearin' Loose
as Sally Harris
The Block Signal
as Grace Ryan
Sins of the Fathers
as Mary Spengler
Yesterday and Today
as (archive footage)
The Drug Store Cowboy
as Jean
The Roaring Rider
as Mary Watkins
Ex-Bad Boy
as Ethel Simmons
Thundering Through
as Ruth Burroughs
A Man of Nerve
as Loria Gatlin
The Public Menace
as Cassie Nicholls
The Fighting Smile
as Rose Craddock
Monks a la mode
as Madame Maxine
The Hurricane Horseman
as June Mathews
The Mad Racer
Screen Snapshots Series 19, No. 1
as Self
The Fighting Cheat
as Ruth Wells
Ridin' Rivals
as Ruth Burroghs
Hello Lafayette
The College Boob
as Angela Boothby
Under Fire
as Margaret Cranston
Biff Bang Buddy
as Bonnie Norton
Somebody Lied
The Powerful Eye
as Dud's Sweetheart