Irene Dunne

She adopted a daughter, Mary Frances (nee Anna Mary Bush) in 1938.

Irene Dunne died in Los Angeles, California, on September 4, 1990, at the age of ninety-one.

Irene Dunne was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on December 20, 1898 to a steamboat inspector named Joseph John Dunn and music teacher Adelaide Henry.

She had a brother and together they moved to their grandparents’ home in Madison, Indiana, when her father died in 1909.

Irene received her initial piano lessons from her mother and also learnt singing and acting with her encouragement. She earned money for the family by singing with the choir at the ‘Christ Episcopal Church’.

She studied at the ‘Loretta Academy’ in St. Louis, Missouri, and graduated from the ‘Madison High School’ in 1916.

She spent the next two years at the ‘Indianapolis Conservatory of Music’ and graduated from there with a diploma in teaching.

Irene Dunne became a professional stage singer in 1921 after getting the attention of touring theater companies and auditioning for them. She added an ‘e’ to the end of her last name ‘Dunn’ around this time.

She made her Broadway debut in 1922 in the supporting role of ‘Tessie’ in theater production, ‘The Clinging Vine’.

In 1923 she acted for the full season in the light opera at Atlanta, Georgia.

The following year she went on a tour of the country as the lead role in ‘The Clinging Vine’. She continued with her stage career mainly in the female lead roles for some more time.

In 1929 she was selected by Florenz Ziegfeld for the role of Magnolia in the Chicago production of Broadway success ‘Show Boat’ produced by Kern and Hammerstein. She was immensely successful in portraying the character and was spotted by the Hollywood talent scouts and offered a contract with RKO studios in Hollywood.

Irene Dunne received the ‘Laetare Medal’ from the ‘Notre Dame University’ in 1949, the ‘Bellarmine Medal’ from the ‘Bellarmine College’ in 1965 and ‘Colorado’s Women of Achivement’ award in 1968.

She was named in the ‘International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame’ in 1958.

She was given a Star on the ‘Hollywood Walk of Fame’.

She was 5 times nominated for Oscar Award.