About Me
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I was born Gloria May Josephine Svensson on March 27, 1899 to Joseph Svensson and Adelaide Klanowski in the Lake View district of Chicago. My father was employed by the U.S. Army transport service, so we moved frequently during my childhood.We lived in Key West, Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico for several years. Eventually, my mother and I would return to Chicago while Father remained stationed oversees.
My mother loved to make me beautiful clothes as a child, but she insisted that my ears were too large and were constantly making me muffs and special hats to hide them. I adored her, though.
As a girl, I loved to act in school plays and even starred in an operetta in Puerto Rico! A little star even then.
When I was 15, my mother and I returned to Chicago. My aunt suggested that I look into Essanay Studios - a film studio that was popular in both Chicago and California. I was fascinated with filmmaking, but thought Essanay's slapstick comedies crude and vulgar. However, Essanay was impressed with my beauty and style, so they offered me jobs! Since I loved having money to buy nice clothes, I decided to work there.
Soon, I appeared with future husband Wallace Beery in 1916 We were married, and moved to Los Angeles. I became immensely popular in such films as A Pullman Bride, Shifting Sands, and Don't Lose Your Husband. By this time I had divorced and remarried - I have always been a rather picky woman. In time enough, I grew to be the highest paid actress in Hollywood. I spent over $8 million in the twenties alone! That and my seven husbands kept my adoring public fascinated with me.
The talkies rolled into Tinseltown, and I was one of the few to survive. In 1928, I was nominated for Best Actress for my role as Sadie Thompson, but unfortunately lost to Mary Pickford! I was nominated again for The Trespasser, but lost once again to Norma Shearer. I had grown a bit tired by this point; I took a hiatus after 1934 and was not seen again until Father Takes a Wife in 1941. Then, in 1950, I played my most famous role of all time; Norma Desmond in Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard. It is often considered one of the best performances in one of the best films of all time. I was nominated once again for Best Actress, but very unfortunately lost again - to Judy Holliday. I would play in a few more movies and appeared on television a bit afterwards, but I had basically retired by that point. I died an unforgettable legend on April 4th, 1983 of natural causes in New York.
