Claire Bloom facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Claire Bloom CBE
Bloom in 1958
Born	Patricia Claire Blume (1931-02-15) 15 February 1931 (age 94) Finchley, Middlesex, England
Education	Guildhall School of Music and Drama Central School of Speech and Drama
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1946–present
Spouse(s)	Rod Steiger ​ ​ (m. 1959; div. 1969)​ Hillard Elkins ​ ​ (m. 1969; div. 1972)​ Philip Roth ​ ​ (m. 1990; div. 1995)​
Children	Anna Steiger
Relatives	John Bloom (brother)

Patricia Claire Bloom (born 15 February 1931) is an English actress. She is famous for her many leading roles in plays and movies. She has won several important awards, including two BAFTA Awards and a Drama Desk Award. She was also given a special honor called the CBE in 2013 for her great work in acting.

Claire Bloom's childhood involved moving around England and Florida. She later studied acting in London. She started acting on the London stage when she was 16. She played roles in many Shakespeare plays, like Ophelia in Hamlet. She became well-known for her main roles in plays such as A Streetcar Named Desire and A Doll's House. She also acted on Broadway in New York City.

Her first movie role was in The Blind Goddess (1948). She became a big star after acting with Charlie Chaplin in his movie Limelight (1952). She also appeared in many other films, including Richard III (1955), Alexander the Great (1956), The Haunting (1963), and Clash of the Titans (1981). Later, she played Queen Mary in the historical drama The King's Speech (2010). Throughout her career, she has acted alongside many famous actors like Richard Burton, Laurence Olivier, and Paul Newman.

Early Life and Education

Bloom in The Brothers Karamazov (1958)

Claire Bloom was born on 15 February 1931. Her birth name was Patricia Claire Blume. She was born in Finchley, which is now part of North London. Her parents were Elizabeth and Edward Max Blume. Her grandparents on both sides were Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Claire Bloom is Russian British and practices Judaism.

Her schooling was not always in one place. She went to Badminton School in Bristol. When her father had money problems, her family moved to Cornwall. There, she went to the local village school. Later, she studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. She continued her studies at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

During the Blitz in 1940, when bombs were falling on London, her family had some close calls. Her father stayed in England, but Claire and her brother John went with their mother to the United States. They lived in Florida for a year with her uncle's family. During this time, her mother worked in a dress shop. Claire was asked by the British War Relief Society to sing at events to help raise money. She says this is how she started in show business. After Florida, Claire, her mother, and brother lived in New York for 18 months before returning to England in 1943.

When they returned, her father's business was better, and they lived in Mayfair. However, her parents' marriage ended soon after, and she did not see her father for many years.

Acting Career

Early Roles and Breakthrough (1946–1969)

With John Neville in Romeo and Juliet (1957)

Claire Bloom started her acting career on BBC radio shows. Her first stage performance was in 1946 when she was 15. This was with the Oxford Repertory Theatre. At 16, she acted at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre. She played Ophelia in Hamlet, with Paul Scofield as Hamlet. She also acted with Richard Burton in Hamlet.

Her first London stage role was in 1947 in the play The Lady's Not For Burning. In this play, she acted with John Gielgud and a young Richard Burton. This play also went to Broadway in New York City. During rehearsals for this play, Burton and Bloom started a long friendship. Later, for her role as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet (1957), a critic called it "the best Juliet I've ever seen." After she played Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire, the play's writer, Tennessee Williams, said he was "absolutely wild about Claire Bloom."

With Charlie Chaplin in Limelight (1952)

Bloom's first movie was The Blind Goddess in 1948. Her big break came in 1952 with the movie Limelight. She was chosen by Charlie Chaplin to act alongside him. Chaplin also directed the film. This movie made Bloom a star. The film was very personal for Chaplin. It included many details from his own life and family. Bloom felt she got the part partly because she looked like Chaplin's young wife, Oona O'Neill.

Claire Bloom as Barsine, with Richard Burton as Alexander, in Alexander the Great (1956)

After Limelight, she appeared in many historical movies. These included Alexander the Great (1956) and The Brothers Karamazov (1958). She also acted in Laurence Olivier's film Richard III (1955). In this film, she played Lady Anne. She also starred in A Doll's House (1973), for which she won an award. She acted with Richard Burton again in Look Back in Anger (1959) and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965). Claire Bloom said about Burton, "He had it all: intelligence, physical beauty, an incredible voice."

Theatre and Television Roles (1970–Present)

In Broadway stage play Hedda Gabler, 1971

Claire Bloom has performed in many plays in London and New York. One of her favorite roles was Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire in 1974. Critics praised her performance. She also did one-woman shows where she performed parts from her stage roles. In the 1960s, she started taking on more modern roles. These included a psychologist in Charly and Theodora in The Haunting. She played Hera in Clash of the Titans, acting again with Laurence Olivier.

Bloom has also appeared in many television shows. She played Lady Marchmain in Brideshead Revisited (1981). She also starred in Anna Karenina (1961) with Sean Connery. In 1985, she played Joy Gresham in Shadowlands, winning a BAFTA Award for Best Actress.

Bloom with Guy Pearce, a fellow actor in The King's Speech, January 2011

In later years, she appeared in Woody Allen films like Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989). She also acted in Daylight (1996) with Sylvester Stallone. In 2010, she played Queen Mary in the Oscar-winning film The King's Speech. She also acted with Jerry Lewis in the 2016 film Max Rose. On television, she appeared in Miss Marple: The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side (1992). She also had roles in Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Doc Martin. From 2009 to 2010, she was in the Doctor Who story "The End of Time" as a mysterious Time Lord.

In 2006, she performed on the London stage in Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks. In 2007, she appeared in Love Letters. She also guest starred in New Tricks in 2008. In 2019, she was in the TV mini-series Summer of Rockets.

Personal Life

Marriages

Claire Bloom has been married three times. Her first marriage was in 1959 to actor Rod Steiger. They met while acting in the play Rashomon. Their daughter, Anna Steiger, is an opera singer. Bloom and Steiger divorced in 1969. Later that year, Bloom married producer Hillard Elkins. This marriage lasted three years. Her third marriage was in 1990 to writer Philip Roth. They divorced in 1995.

Memoirs

Claire Bloom has written two books about her life and career. Her first book, Limelight and After: The Education of an Actress, was published in 1982. It looked closely at her acting career. Her second book, Leaving a Doll's House: A Memoir, came out in 1996. This book shared more details about her personal life.

Acting Credits

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and Honours

Claire Bloom was given the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2013. This was for her great contributions to drama.

Images for kids

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  Bloom in 1958

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  Bloom in The Brothers Karamazov (1958)

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  With John Neville in Romeo and Juliet (1957)

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  With Charlie Chaplin in Limelight (1952)

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  Claire Bloom as Barsine, with Richard Burton as Alexander, in Alexander the Great (1956)

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  In Broadway stage play Hedda Gabler, 1971

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  Bloom with Guy Pearce, a fellow actor in The King's Speech, January 2011

See also

In Spanish: Claire Bloom para niños