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Quick Facts
- NAME: Janet Gaynor
- OCCUPATION: Film Actress
- BIRTH DATE: October 06, 1906
- DEATH DATE: September 04, 1984
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- PLACE OF DEATH: Palm Springs, California
- Originally: Laura Augusta Gainor
Best Known For
Silent film actress Janet Gaynor won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Actress in 1929, for her role in the movie Seventh Heaven.
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Play NowJanet Gaynor. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 02:29, Jun 20, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/janet-gaynor-9542411.
Janet Gaynor. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/janet-gaynor-9542411 [Accessed 20 Jun 2013].
"Janet Gaynor." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 20 2013, 02:29 http://www.biography.com/people/janet-gaynor-9542411.
"Janet Gaynor," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/janet-gaynor-9542411 [accessed Jun 20, 2013].
"Janet Gaynor," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/janet-gaynor-9542411 (accessed Jun 20, 2013).
Janet Gaynor [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 20] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/janet-gaynor-9542411.
Janet Gaynor, http://www.biography.com/people/janet-gaynor-9542411 (last visited Jun 20, 2013).
Janet Gaynor. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/janet-gaynor-9542411. Accessed Jun 20, 2013.
She credited her friend the producer Paul Gregory with her survival. They married on 24 December 1964 and made their home in Palm Springs,
where Gaynor painted florals that she successfully exhibited. She also became a gourmet cook and merchandised a line of specialty foods. Gaynor died from pneumonia and complications from an auto accident in 1982 that had injured her husband Gregory and friend Mary Martin. She was buried in Palm Springs.
Despite her lack of professional training and beauty and her limited singing and dancing ability, Gaynor was one of Hollywood's most popular stars, performing in 37 major films. She gave Depression-era audiences a sympathetic and loving heroine. In later years Gaynor said, "We were essences. ... I was the essence of young first love." She was honored with a special award at the 1978 Academy Awards for the "pleasure and entertainment" she had brought to film fans worldwide.
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Included In These Groups
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Silent Screen Stars
View groupIn the early years of motion pictures, actors were recruited from the stage, resulting in larger-than-life performances that seemed jarring when blown up to the size of a movie screen. As the years went on, actors began to understand the subtleties of the medium, and used more natural expressions to connect with their audiences. They became movie stars, known for their glamorous looks and identifiable personalities. As Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard would say, they didn't need dialogue, they had faces.
Silent Screen Stars 16 people in this group
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Best Actress Oscar Winners
View groupExplore our collection of Best Actress Oscar winners, including Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Marion Cotillard, Vivien Leigh and Cher. View full biographies, photos and videos, only at Biography.com.
Best Actress Oscar Winners 68 people in this group
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Famous Libras 538 people in this group
