Celeste Holm Biography

Fast Facts

• Appointed to the National Arts Council in the 1980s by then-President Ronald Reagan
• Inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1992
• Passed away in 2012 at age 95 in her Manhattan apartment in which she resided for more than 50 years
• Quote: "(On how she got started in show biz) "I was a young girl about 16, auditioned and wanted to get a job in summer theatre in [New Jersey]․ I never studied․ I did plays in High School․ Did harder roles․ Teachers would ask what roles I wanted to play․My Aunt was on the stage, Hinda Hand, a singing actress․ She had a beautiful voice․""
• Following years of work on various stage productions, she would transition to film during the 1940s, eventually garnering one Oscar win and two other nominations
• Best known in the theater world as the original actress to portray the role of Ado Annie in the Broadway musical, Oklahoma!, which debuted in 1943
• Lived in a Central Park West apartment in New York City she bought for $10,000 from 1953 until her death in 2012