Myrna Loy Biography

The daughter of a successful Montana state legislator, she made her stage debut at the age of 12, in a dance piece called 'The Blue Bird'.

The next year, her father died, and Myrna moved to Los Angeles, and began appearing in local stage productions to support her family. She began to regularly appear at the famous Grauman’s Theater in Hollywood, where Rudolph Valentino’s wife spotted her.

Impressed, she helped her land some film parts and, with success beckoning, Miss Williams took the name Miss Loy in 1920. It was to be the start of a phenomenally lengthy career.

After initial typecasting as an exotic ‘vamp’, her star really began to shine in 'The Thin Man' series, in which she played Nora Charles. Her performances were hugely successful, and have become some of the best-loved in movie history. In 1936, she was voted ‘Queen of the Movies’ to Clark Gable’s ‘King’, in a nationwide audience poll.

She married in 1936 - the first of four failed marriages.

Off-screen, Loy carved out a role as a highly respected spokesperson for international social issues. A supporter of the UN and a prominent figure in UNESCO, she also served on the Civil Rights Commission. In the 1950s, she was vocal and influential in her condemnation of Hollywood ‘witch-hunt’ blacklisting.

Appearing in 129 movies during her life, her last film role was in 1981’s 'Summer Solstice'. She was awarded a lifetime achievement Academy Award in 1991.

Loy died on the 14th December 1993 in New York City, at the age of 88.