Loretta Young

Lore & Background

Young began acting as a child in silent films, including an uncredited role in Sweet Kitty Bellairs (1916). She was signed by John McCormick, who gave her the name Loretta after his wife's favorite doll. She eloped with actor Grant Withers in 1930, but the marriage was annulled the next year. Young won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Farmer's Daughter (1947), learning a Swedish accent for the role, and received a second nomination for Come to the Stable (1949).

Reader's Guide

Loretta Young's significance lies in her successful transition from film to television, hosting and starring in The Loretta Young Show from 1953 to 1961, which earned three Primetime Emmy Awards and became the longest-running primetime network program hosted by a woman up to that time. Her film career included notable roles in The Stranger (1946) and The Bishop's Wife (1947). She returned to television in the 1980s, winning a Golden Globe for Christmas Eve (1986). Her legacy includes two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a career that adapted to changing media.

Did You Know?

• Young was born Gretchen Michaela Young in Salt Lake City, Utah.
• She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Farmer's Daughter (1947).
• Her television series The Loretta Young Show ran for eight years in prime time.
• She had two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for film and television.