Age, Biography and Wiki

Irene Dunne (Irene Marie Dunn) was born on 20 December, 1898 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, is an actress,soundtrack. Discover Irene Dunne's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is she in this year and how she spends money? Also learn how she earned most of networth at the age of 91 years old?

Popular As Irene Marie Dunn
Occupation actress,soundtrack
Age 91 years old
Zodiac Sign Sagittarius
Born 20 December, 1898
Birthday 20 December
Birthplace Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Date of death 4 September, 1990
Died Place Los Angeles, California, USA
Nationality United States

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 20 December. She is a member of famous Actress with the age 91 years old group.

Irene Dunne Height, Weight & Measurements

At 91 years old, Irene Dunne height is 5' 5" (1.65 m) .

Physical Status
Height 5' 5" (1.65 m)
Weight Not Available
Body Measurements Not Available
Eye Color Not Available
Hair Color Not Available

Who Is Irene Dunne's Husband?

Her husband is Francis Dennis Griffin (16 July 1927 - 15 October 1965) ( his death) ( 1 child)

Family
Parents Not Available
Husband Francis Dennis Griffin (16 July 1927 - 15 October 1965) ( his death) ( 1 child)
Sibling Not Available
Children Not Available

Irene Dunne Net Worth

Her net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Irene Dunne worth at the age of 91 years old? Irene Dunne’s income source is mostly from being a successful Actress. She is from United States. We have estimated Irene Dunne's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Roberta (1935)$157,948 .50 (including percentage)
Magnificent Obsession (1935)$150,000
My Favorite Wife (1940)$239,056 .20 (including percentage)
I Remember Mama (1948)$100,000

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Timeline

1898

Irene Marie Dunne was born on December 20, 1898, in Louisville, Kentucky. She was the daughter of Joseph Dunne, who inspected steamships, and Adelaide Henry, a musician who prompted Irene in the arts. Her first production was in Louisville when she appeared in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the age of five. Her "debut" set the tone for a fabulous career. Following the tragic death of her father when she was 12, she moved with her remaining family to the picturesque and historic town of Madison, Indiana, to live with her maternal grandparents at 916 W. Second St. During the next few years Irene studied voice and took piano lessons in town. She was able to earn money singing in the Christ Episcopal Church choir on Sundays.

1901

Following her death, she was interred at Calvary Cemetery in East Los Angeles, California. Her tombstone mistakenly gives her date of birth as 1901 rather than 1898.

1904

For years, during her lifetime, her date of birth was listed in the World Almanac as 1904.

1916

After graduating from Madison High School in 1916, she studied until 1917 in a music conservatory in Indianapolis. After that she accepted a teaching post as a music and art instructor in East Chicago, Indiana, just a stone's throw from Chicago. She never made it to the school. While on her way to East Chicago, she saw a newspaper ad in the Indianapolis Star and News for an annual scholarship contest run by the Chicago Music College. Irene won the contest, which enabled her to study there for a year. After that she headed for New York City because it was still the entertainment capital of the world. Her first goal in New York was to add her name to the list of luminaries of the Metropolitan Opera Company. Her audition did her little good, as she was rejected for being too young and inexperienced. She did win the leading role in a road theater company, which was in turn followed by numerous plays.

1926

During this time she studied at the Chicago Music College, from which she graduated with high honors in 1926.

1928

In 1928, Irene met and married a promising young dentist from New York named Francis Dennis Griffin. She remained with Dr.

1929

Was discovered for films while appearing in the first national touring company of "Show Boat" in 1929. She played and sang the role of Magnolia, and repeated her performance in Show Boat (1936).

1930

By 1930 she was under contract to RKO Pictures.

Her first film was Leathernecking (1930), which went almost unnoticed.

1931

In 1931 she appeared in Cimarron (1931), for which she received the first of five Academy Award nominations.

1932

After her death, her Holmby Hills home was listed for sale for $6.9 million. One of the realtors was William Bakewell who had acted with Irene in Back Street (1932).

1933

No Other Woman (1933) and Ann Vickers (1933) the same year followed.

1934

Was considered for the role of Mildred Rogers in Of Human Bondage (1934), but Bette Davis was cast instead.

1936

In 1936 (due to her comic skits in Show Boat (1936) she was "persuaded" to star in a comedy, up to that time a medium for which she had small affection.

However, Theodora Goes Wild (1936) was an instant hit, almost as popular as the more famous It Happened One Night (1934) from two years before. From this she earned her second Academy Award nomination.

1937

Later, in 1937, she was teamed with Cary Grant in The Awful Truth (1937). This helped her garner a third Academy Award nomination.

1938

During her marriage to Dr. Frank Griffin, Irene adopted a child, Mary Frances. The child was adopted in 1938 at the age of four from the New York Foundling Hospital.

1939

Her favorite film was Love Affair (1939) with Charles Boyer, a huge hit in a year with so many great films, and a role for which she was again nominated for an Academy Award.

1940

She starred with Grant later in My Favorite Wife (1940) and Penny Serenade (1941).

1944

Irene possessed a beautiful singing voice. In the 1944 movie "Together again" she sings in Spanish Gardel's tango "Adiós muchachos".

1947

Her only full color production (in three-strip Technicolor) was Life with Father (1947) in which she co-starred with William Powell. (Her debut film Leathernecking (1930), of which no print is known to survive, featured a sequence in two-color Technicolor.).

1948

Howevever, it was the tear-jerker I Remember Mama (1948) for which she will be best remembered in the role of the loving, self-sacrificing Norwegian mother. She got another nomination for that but again lost. This was the picture in which she should have won the Oscar. She began to wean herself away from films toward the many charities and public works she championed.

1952

Her last major movie was as Polly Baxter in 1952's It Grows on Trees (1952). After that she only appeared as a guest on television. Irene knew enough to quit while she was ahead of the game and this helped keep her legacy intact.

1955

Because she rode riverboats as a girl in Kentucky and starred in Show Boat (1936), she was chosen by Walt Disney to christen the stern-wheel riverboat "Mark Twain" when Disneyland officially opened in Anaheim, California on July 17, 1955.

1957

In 1957 she was appointed as a special US delegate to the United Nations during the 12th General Assembly by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, such was her widespread appeal. The remainder of her life was spent on civic causes.

1958

Was offered the role of Aunt Alicia in Vincente Minnelli's Gigi (1958), but she declined, preferring to stay in retirement.

1959

President Dwight D. Eisenhower named her an alternate delegate to the U.N. General Assembly in 1959. Dunne had actively campaigned for him in the 1952 and 1956 presidential elections.

1960

She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6440 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.

1965

Griffin until his death in 1965. Irene came to the attention of Hollywood when she performed in "Show Boat" on the East Coast.

1968

In 1968, she was named one of Colorado's Women of achievement.

1976

She even donated $10,000 to the restoration of the town fountain in her girlhood home of Madison, Indiana, in 1976, even though she had not been there since 1938 when she came home for a visit.

1985

Her last official public appearance was in December 1985 for the Kennedy Center honors in Washington. She collapsed at the Saturday night reception after the group photograph of the honorees and was unable to attend the gala the next night.

1986

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 261-263. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999.

1992

Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith. Pg. 145-146. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387

1999

Profiled in book "Funny Ladies" by Stephen Silverman. [1999]

2010

Profiled in "American Classic Screen Interviews" (Scarecrow Press). [2010]

2019

On August 16, 2019, she was honored with a day of her film work during the Turner Classic Movies Summer Under the Stars.