Ruth Chatterton Movies and Career Information

Ruth Chatterton (December 24, 1892 – November 24, 1961) was an American actress and novelist. She also flew planes and knew Amelia Earhart. Born in New York City on Christmas Eve 1892, of English and French extraction to Walter Smith and Lillian Reed Chatterton. She was a descendant of the English poet Thomas Chatterton. She was on Broadway by the age of 14, as a dancer. After leaving a private school at the age of 14, Ruth started off as a chorus girl in a stage play and was a star on the American stage by age eighteen. Her first film was Sins of the Fathers in 1928, and almost all of her films were pre-Code. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for two films: Madame X (1929) and Sarah and Son (1930). She starred in the Paramount Pictures all-star revue Paramount on Parade (1930). Her stage experience enhanced many of her film performances when the "silents" segued to the "talkies." Although her first "talkies" were merely filmed stage productions, her enunciation and acting were appreciated by the public and critics alike. When she left Paramount, her initial studio, for Warner Brothers (along with Kay Francis and William Powell), it was noted that the