Paulette Goddard Biography

Fast Facts

• Was nominated for a Mexican Cinema Journalists Award for Best Foreign Actress for "Time of Indifference" in 1967
• Donated more than $3 million in scholarships to students at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts
• Started out as a model for Hattie Carnegie and later began acting on Broadway as a Ziegfeld girl in "No Foolin'" in 1926
• Made her screen acting debut in the short film "Berth Marks" in 1929
• Had a successful career during the 1940s, appearing in films like "Nothing but the Truth," "Hold Back the Dawn," and "So Proudly We Hail!"
• Best known for her roles in Charlie Chaplin's last silent film, "Modern Times," and his first talkie, "The Great Dictator․"
• Was said to be the inspiration for the heroine in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," whose author, Anita Loos, would later say "Gentlemen prefer blondes, until they get a load of Paulette!"
• Was a serious contender for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone with the Wind," which eventually went to Vivien Leigh