Irene Dunne had elegant looks that masked her comedic talents and a charming unassuming manner. (I’ve always thought that she looked like Greta Garbo, only with warmth.) Her singing voice was lovely and she did musicals, as well as comedies and dramas.

Born in 1904 (although I have another source that says her birth date was 1898) in Kentucky, she attended the Chicago College of Music and was touring in musical shows and performing on Broadway by the 1920's. Her first movie role was in the Oscar winning film, "Cimarron" in 1931. She went on to play in "four hanky" films, until she was cast in comedies with "Theodora Goes Wild" and "The Awful Truth". One of her most famous musicals was the first filmed version of   "Show Boat".

But, along with the comedies were touching dramatic films like "Penny Serenade" and "Anna and the King of Siam". She ended her career in the early 1950's after having graduated to the "mother" roles, including the ultimate "mother" role in "I Remember Mama."

She married Francis J. Griffin, a New York dentist, in the 1928 and remained married until his death in 1965.  She had one daughter.  President Eisenhower named her as alternate delegate to the U.N. General Assembly in 1959.  Miss Dunne passed away in 1990.

Some of her movies I would recommend are:

There are other well-known movies of Ms. Dunne’s, I could list, but I haven’t seen them yet, myself. Take a look at her performances, as I will watch for these films, also. Her charm and talent really glows in all the performances I have seen.