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Clara Bow

American actress (1905–1965)

AI overview

Clara Bow was an American actress who became one of the biggest movie stars of the 1920s silent film era, known for her vivacious personality and style. She remains a significant figure in cinema history as an early example of a female star who achieved major fame and cultural influence during Hollywood's golden age.

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Person · Open Library

Born: 1905-07-29
Died: 1965-09-27
Works: 1

Top works

Clara Bow

via Open Library + Wikidata

Film & TV

Acting · Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

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…

Known for

Hodgepodge — Self (archive footage, as Mary Preston)2025
Clara Bow: Hollywood's Lost Screen Goddess2012
Fragments: Surviving Pieces of Lost Films — Herself (archive footage)2011
Sigrid Holmquist — Sigrid Holmquist (archive footage)2010
Flappers, Speakeasies, and the Birth of Modern Culture2010
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema — Self (archive footage)2007

Article

Clara Gordon Bow (/boʊ/; July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom during the silent film era of the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" in 1929. 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 58 films, all but 11 of which were silent. 33 are extant in their entirety, 14 are partially lost, and 11 are completely lost. Some hits include Mantrap (1926), It (1927), and Wings (1927). She was named the first box-office draw in 1928 and 1929 and the 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, in January 1929.