Lauren Bacall

"Bacall" redirects here. For the surname, see Bacall (surname).

Lauren Bacall
Bacall in 1945
Born
Betty Joan Perske

(1924-09-16)September 16, 1924
New York City, U.S.
DiedAugust 12, 2014(2014-08-12) (aged 89)
New York City, U.S.
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California, U.S.
Other namesBetty Bogart[1]
Alma materAmerican Academy of Dramatic Arts
Occupations
  • Actress
  • model
  • spokeswoman
Years active1942–2014
WorksPerformances
Political partyDemocratic
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1945; died 1957)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1961; div. 1969)​
Children3, including Stephen and Sam
RelativesShimon Peres (cousin)
AwardsFull list
Signature

Betty Joan Perske (September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014), professionally known as Lauren Bacall (/bəˈkɔːl/ bə-KAWL), was an American actress. She was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute. She received an Academy Honorary Award in 2009 in recognition of her contribution to the Golden Age of motion pictures.[2] She was known for her alluring, sultry presence and her distinctive, husky voice. Bacall was one of the last surviving major stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema.[3]

Bacall began a career as a model for the Walter Thornton Model Agency before making her film debut at the age of twenty as the leading lady opposite her future husband Humphrey Bogart in To Have and Have Not (1944).[4] She continued in the film noir genre with appearances alongside her new husband in The Big Sleep (1946), Dark Passage (1947), and Key Largo (1948), and she starred in the romantic comedies How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) and Designing Woman (1957). She portrayed the female lead in Written on the Wind (1956), which is considered one of Douglas Sirk's seminal films. She later acted in Harper (1966), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), and The Shootist (1976).

Bacall found a career resurgence for her role in the romantic comedy The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996), for which she earned the Golden Globe Award and the Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for the Academy Award and the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress. During the final stage of her career, she gained newfound success with a younger audience for major supporting roles in the films Misery (1990), Dogville (2003), Birth (2004), and the English dubs of the animated films Howl's Moving Castle (2004) and Ernest & Celestine (2012).

For her work in theatre, Bacall made her Broadway debut in Johnny 2x4 (1942). She went on to win two Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical for her performances in Applause (1970) and Woman of the Year (1981). She also acted in the play Goodbye Charlie (1959), the farce Cactus Flower (1965), and Wonderful Town (1977). She made her West End debut in The Applause (1970) followed by Sweet Bird of Youth (1985).

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference census was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "82nd Academy Awards Memorable Moments". Oscars. 2009. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  3. ^ Ford, Dana (August 12, 2014). "Famed actress Lauren Bacall dies at 89". CNN. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  4. ^ Bacall, Lauren (1979). Lauren Bacall By myself. New York: Knopf. p. 64.