Irene Dunne

"When we have learned to love our neighbor, not just our selves, no matter where we come from, then America will be perfect." ~ Irene

Irene Marie Dunne was born on December 20, 1898, in Louisville, Kentucky. She was very close to her father who died when she was eleven. Soon after her mother moved the family to Indiana. Irene began studying music and won a prestigious scholarship to the Chicago Musical College. She dreamed of becoming an opera singer but was rejected from the Metropolitan Opera Company. After appearing in several Broadway shows she was offered a contract with RKO. In 1931 she was nominated for an Academy for her role in the western Cimmaron. Her success continued with hit movies like Love Affair, Roberta, and Showboat. At the height of her career she was earning $400,000 a year. Irene married Francis Dennis Griffin, a dentist, and in 1938 they adopted a daughter named Mary.

She made three films with Cary Grant, including the hit comedy The Awful Truth, and would always say that her was her favorite leading man. In 1948 she received her fifth Oscar nomination for the drama I Remember Mama. She retired from making movies in the early 1950s although she continued to make appearances on television. Irene was a devout Catholic and a lifelong Republican. In 1959 President Eisenhower made her an alternate delegate to the United Nations. After the death of her husband in 1965 she devoted most of her time to doing charity work. She was given a lifetime achievement award at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1985. Irene died on September 4, 1990 from heart failure. She is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.