One of the brightest film stars to grace the screen was born Lily Claudette Chauchoin on September 13, 1903, in Paris, Seine, France. Her banker father moved the family to the Unit...more >>ed States when she was three. As Claudette grew up, she wanted nothing more than to play to Broadway audiences (in those days, any actress or actor worth their salt went for Broadway, not Hollywood). After her formal education ended, she enrolled in the Art Students League, where she paid for her dramatic training by working in a dress shop. She made her Broadway debut in 1923 in the stage production of The Wild Wescotts. It was during this event that she adopted the name Claudette Colbert.<< collapse