Deanna Durbin Biography

Fast Facts

• Received professional vocal training, and originally planned to pursue a career in opera
• Made her screen debut alongside Judy Garland in the 1936 musical short Every Sunday, originally intended as an audition piece for the young actors
• Gained immediate success with her first feature, Three Smart Girls, which was Universal Pictures' highest-grossing film of 1936
• Received a special Oscar in 1938, along with actor Mickey Rooney, for setting a high standard of ability and achievement as juvenile players
• Retired from acting in 1948, following dissatisfaction with the Hollywood studio system and falling box-office returns
• Moved to France and abandoned public life after marrying her Lady on a Train (1945) director, Charles David, in 1950