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Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

74

Gender

Female

Birthday

1905-07-29

Day of Death

1965-09-27 (60 years old)

Place of Birth

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Also Known As

Clara Gordon Bow

The 'It' Girl

Clara Bow

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Clara Gordon Bow (July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom in silent films during the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" after 1927. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the film It brought her global fame and the nickname "The It Girl". Bow came to personify the Roaring Twenties and is described as its leading sex symbol. Bow appeared in 46 silent films and 11 talkies, including hits such as Mantrap (1926), It (1927), and Wings (1927). She was named first box-office draw in 1928 and 1929 and second box-office draw in 1927 and 1930. Her presence in a motion picture was said to have ensured investors, by odds of almost two-to-one, a "safe return". At the apex of her stardom, she received more than 45,000 fan letters in a single month (January 1929). Two years after marrying actor Rex Bell in 1931, Bow retired from acting and became a rancher in Nevada. Her final film, Hoop-La, was released in 1933. In September 1965, Bow died of a heart attack at the age of 60.

Known For

Acting

Wings

1927

Wings

as

Mary Preston

Yesterday and Today

1953

Yesterday and Today

as

(archive footage)

This Woman

1924

This Woman

as

Aline Sturdevant

The Wild Party

1929

The Wild Party

as

Stella Ames

It

1927

It

as

Betty Lou Spence

Mantrap

1926

Mantrap

as

Alverna

Hoopla

1933

Hoopla

as

Lou

Poisoned Paradise

1924

Poisoned Paradise

as

Margot LeBlanc

Call Her Savage

1932

Call Her Savage

as

Nasa Springer

Parisian Love

1925

Parisian Love

as

Marie

No Limit

1931

No Limit

as

Helen 'Bunny' O'Day

Dangerous Curves

1929

Dangerous Curves

as

Pat Delaney

The Saturday Night Kid

1929

The Saturday Night Kid

as

Mayme Barry

True to the Navy

1930

True to the Navy

as

Ruby Nolan

Rough House Rosie

1927

Rough House Rosie

as

Rosie O'Reilly

Love Among the Millionaires

1930

Love Among the Millionaires

as

Pepper Whipple

Free to Love

1925

Free to Love

as

Marie Anthony

My Lady of Whims

1925

My Lady of Whims

as

Prudence Severn

Capital Punishment

1925

Capital Punishment

as

Delia Tate

The Plastic Age

1925

The Plastic Age

as

Cynthia Day

Her Wedding Night

1930

Her Wedding Night

as

Norma Martin

Dancing Mothers

1926

Dancing Mothers

as

Kittens Westcourt

Kid Boots

1926

Kid Boots

as

Clara McCoy

Hula

1927

Hula

as

Hula Calhoun

Get Your Man

1927

Get Your Man

as

Nancy Worthington

Black Oxen

1923

Black Oxen

as

Janet Ogelthorpe

Helen's Babies

1924

Helen's Babies

as

Alice Mayton

Betty Boop: Queen of the Cartoons

1995

Betty Boop: Queen of the Cartoons

as

Self (archive footage)

Ladies of the Mob

1928

Ladies of the Mob

as

Yvonne

The Primrose Path

1925

The Primrose Path

as

Marilyn Merrill

The Runaway

1926

The Runaway

as

Cynthia Meade

Maytime

1923

Maytime

as

Alice Tremaine

Daughters of Pleasure

1924

Daughters of Pleasure

as

Lila Millas

Kiss Me Again

1925

Kiss Me Again

as

Grizette

Edith Head: The Paramount Years

2002

Edith Head: The Paramount Years

as

(archive footage)

Fragments: Surviving Pieces of Lost Films

2011

Fragments: Surviving Pieces of Lost Films

as

Herself (archive footage)

Black Lightning

1924

Black Lightning

as

Martha Larned

The Best Bad Man

1925

The Best Bad Man

as

Peggy Swain

Paramount on Parade

1930

Paramount on Parade

as

Herself

Shadow of the Law

1926

Shadow of the Law

as

Mary Brophy

Red Hair

1928

Red Hair

as

Bubbles McCoy

Three Week Ends

1928

Three Week Ends

as

Gladys O'Brien

Children of Divorce

1927

Children of Divorce

as

Kitty Flanders

Kick In

1931

Kick In

as

Molly Hewes

My Lady's Lips

1925

My Lady's Lips

as

Lola Lombard

Down to the Sea in Ships

1922

Down to the Sea in Ships

as

'Dot' Morgan

Beyond the Rainbow

1922

Beyond the Rainbow

as

Virginia Gardener

The Fleet's In

1928

The Fleet's In

as

Trixie Deane

Fascinating Youth

1926

Fascinating Youth

as

Clara Bow

Two Can Play

1926

Two Can Play

as

Dorothy Hammis

The Keeper of the Bees

1925

The Keeper of the Bees

as

Lolly Cameron

The Film Parade

1933

The Film Parade

as

(archive footage) (uncredited)

Sigrid Holmquist

2010

Sigrid Holmquist

as

Sigrid Holmquist (archive footage)

Empty Hearts

1924

Empty Hearts

as

Rosalie

The House That Shadows Built

1931

The House That Shadows Built

as

(archive footage)

Grit

1924

Grit

as

Orchid McGonigle

Wine

1924

Wine

as

Angela Warriner

The Adventurous Sex

1925

The Adventurous Sex

as

The Girl

Eve's Lover

1925

Eve's Lover

as

Rena D'Arcy

The Lawful Cheater

1925

The Lawful Cheater

as

Molly Burns

The Scarlet West

1925

The Scarlet West

as

Miriam

Enemies of Women

1923

Enemies of Women

as

Dancing Girl (uncredited)

Clara Bow: Discovering the It Girl

1999

Clara Bow: Discovering the It Girl

as

Self / Various Roles (archive footage)

Enemies of Women

1923

Enemies of Women

as

Girl Dancing on Table

Hodgepodge

2025

Hodgepodge

as

Self (archive footage, as Mary Preston)

Production

Crew

Directing