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IMDbPro

Barbara Stanwyck(1907-1990)

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,0001444
Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity (1944)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:29
The Night Walker (1964)
50 Videos
99+ Photos
Today Barbara Stanwyck is remembered primarily as the matriarch of the family known as the Barkleys on the TV western The Big Valley (1965), wherein she played Victoria, and from the hit drama The Colbys (1985). But she was known to millions of other fans for her movie career, which spanned the period from 1927 until 1964, after which she appeared on television until 1986. It was a career that lasted for 59 years.

Barbara Stanwyck was born Ruby Catherine Stevens on July 16, 1907, in Brooklyn, New York, to working class parents Catherine Ann (McPhee) and Byron E. Stevens. Her father, from Massachusetts, had English ancestry, and her Canadian mother, from Nova Scotia, was of Scottish and Irish descent. Stanwyck went to work at the local telephone company for fourteen dollars a week, but she had the urge (a dream--that was all it was) somehow to enter show business. When not working, she pounded the pavement in search of dancing jobs. The persistence paid off. Barbara was hired as a chorus girl for the princely sum of $40 a week, much better than the wages she was getting from the phone company. She was seventeen, and was going to make the most of the opportunity that had been given her.

In 1928 Barbara moved to Hollywood, where she was to start one of the most lucrative careers filmdom had ever seen. She was an extremely versatile actress who could adapt to any role. Barbara was equally at home in all genres, from melodramas, such as Forbidden (1932) and Stella Dallas (1937), to thrillers, such as Double Indemnity (1944), one of her best films, also starring Fred MacMurray (as you have never seen him before). She also excelled in comedies such as Remember the Night (1940) and The Lady Eve (1941). Another genre she excelled in was westerns, Union Pacific (1939) being one of her first and TV's The Big Valley (1965) (her most memorable role) being her last. In 1983, she played in the ABC hit mini-series The Thorn Birds (1983), which did much to keep her in the eye of the public. She turned in an outstanding performance as Mary Carson.

Barbara was considered a gem to work with for her serious but easygoing attitude on the set. She worked hard at being an actress, and she never allowed her star quality to go to her head. She was nominated for four Academy Awards, though she never won. She turned in magnificent performances for all the roles she was nominated for, but the "powers that be" always awarded the Oscar to someone else. However, in 1982 she was awarded an honorary Academy Award for "superlative creativity and unique contribution to the art of screen acting." Sadly, Barbara died on January 20, 1990, leaving 93 movies and a host of TV appearances as her legacy to us.
BornJuly 16, 1907
DiedJanuary 20, 1990(82)
BornJuly 16, 1907
DiedJanuary 20, 1990(82)
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,0001444
  • Nominated for 4 Oscars

Photos1241

Barbara Stanwyck and Basil Ruysdael in These Wilder Years (1956)
Barbara Stanwyck and William Haade in Union Pacific (1939)
Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea in Union Pacific (1939)
Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea in Union Pacific (1939)
Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, and Robert Preston in Union Pacific (1939)
Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea in Union Pacific (1939)
Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea in Union Pacific (1939)
Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Preston in Union Pacific (1939)
Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Preston in Union Pacific (1939)
Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Preston in Union Pacific (1939)
Barbara Stanwyck in Union Pacific (1939)
Barbara Stanwyck in Union Pacific (1939)

Known for

Edward G. Robinson, Barbara Stanwyck, and Fred MacMurray in Double Indemnity (1944)
Double Indemnity
8.3
  • Phyllis Dietrichson
  • 1944
Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck in Ball of Fire (1941)
Ball of Fire
7.7
  • Sugarpuss O'Shea
  • 1941
Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)
Sorry, Wrong Number
7.3
  • Leona Stevenson
  • 1948
Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, Lynne Overman, Robert Preston, and Akim Tamiroff in Union Pacific (1939)
Union Pacific
7.1
  • Mollie Monahan
  • 1939

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress

  • Charlton Heston, Stephanie Beacham, Maxwell Caulfield, Katharine Ross, Tracy Scoggins, Barbara Stanwyck, John James, Emma Samms, and Claire Yarlett in The Colbys (1985)
    The Colbys
  • Dynasty (1981)
    Dynasty
  • Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward in The Thorn Birds (1983)
    The Thorn Birds
  • Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson, and Jaclyn Smith in Charlie's Angels (1976)
    Charlie's Angels
  • The Letters (1973)
    The Letters
  • Barbara Parkins in A Taste of Evil (1971)
    A Taste of Evil
  • The House That Would Not Die (1970)
    The House That Would Not Die
  • Lee Majors, Barbara Stanwyck, Linda Evans, Peter Breck, and Richard Long in The Big Valley (1965)
    The Big Valley
  • Calhoun: County Agent (1964)
    Calhoun: County Agent
  • The Night Walker (1964)
    The Night Walker
  • Elvis Presley in Roustabout (1964)
    Roustabout
  • John McIntire in Wagon Train (1957)
    Wagon Train
  • Abel Fernandez, Nicholas Georgiade, Paul Picerni, and Robert Stack in The Untouchables (1959)
    The Untouchables
  • The Dick Powell Theatre (1961)
    The Dick Powell Theatre
  • Walk on the Wild Side (1962)
    Walk on the Wild Side

Soundtrack

  • Joseph Cotten, Barbara Stanwyck, Leslie Caron, and Louis Calhern in The Man with a Cloak (1951)
    The Man with a Cloak
    • (uncredited)
  • Anthony Quinn, Ray Milland, and Barbara Stanwyck in California (1947)
    California
  • Barbara Stanwyck and Michael O'Shea in Lady of Burlesque (1943)
    Lady of Burlesque
  • Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Nancy Coleman, and Geraldine Fitzgerald in The Gay Sisters (1942)
    The Gay Sisters
    • (uncredited)
  • Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck in Ball of Fire (1941)
    Ball of Fire
    • (uncredited)
  • Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray in Remember the Night (1940)
    Remember the Night
    • (uncredited)
  • Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Taylor, and Victor McLaglen in This Is My Affair (1937)
    This Is My Affair
    • (uncredited)
  • Barbara Stanwyck, Katherine DeMille, and Joel McCrea in Banjo on My Knee (1936)
    Banjo on My Knee
  • Barbara Stanwyck, Ricardo Cortez, Frank Morgan, and Lyle Talbot in A Lost Lady (1934)
    A Lost Lady
    • (uncredited)
  • Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent in The Purchase Price (1932)
    The Purchase Price
    • (uncredited)
  • The Miracle Woman (1931)
    The Miracle Woman
    • (uncredited)
  • Barbara Stanwyck and James Rennie in Illicit (1931)
    Illicit
    • (uncredited)

Videos50

Trailer
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Trailer 3:39
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Trailer 2:08
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Trailer 2:24
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:52
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:44
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:16
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 3:15
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:17
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:07
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 3:02
Official Trailer

Personal details

Edit
    • July 16, 1907
    • Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
    • January 20, 1990
    • Santa Monica, California, USA(congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive lung disease, emphysema)
    • Robert TaylorMay 14, 1939 - February 25, 1952 (divorced)
    • Bert Stevens(Sibling)
  • Other works
    Print ads: Lux Toilet Soap
  • Publicity listings
    • 4 Biographical Movies
    • 9 Print Biographies
    • 1 Portrayal
    • 2 Interviews
    • 15 Articles
    • 9 Pictorials
    • 91 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Often called "The Best Actress Who Never Won an Oscar."
  • Quotes
    During Double Indemnity (1944), Fred MacMurray would go to rushes [viewings of daily completed shots]. I remember asking Fred, "How was I?" [Fred's response was] "I don't know about you, but I was wonderful!" Such a true remark. Actors only look at themselves.
    • Seductive husky voice with Brooklyn accent
    • Titanic
      (1953)
      $75,000

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