Frances Dee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Frances Dee
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Dee in 1936
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Frances Marion Dee
November 26, 1909 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Died | March 6, 2004 (aged 94) Norwalk, Connecticut. U.S.
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| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1930–1953 |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 3, including Jody McCrea |
Frances Marion Dee (born November 26, 1909 – died March 6, 2004) was an American actress. She was famous for her roles in movies like An American Tragedy (1931). She also starred in the 1943 scary movie I Walked With a Zombie.
Early Life and School
Frances Marion Dee was born in Los Angeles, California. Her father worked for the government. When Frances was seven, her family moved to Chicago, Illinois.
She went to Shakespeare Grammar School and Hyde Park High School. Her friends called her Frankie Dee. She was very popular and even voted "Belle of the Year" in her senior class.
After high school in 1927, she studied at the University of Chicago for two years. She enjoyed acting in school plays there. Later, she moved back to California.
Becoming an Actress
In 1929, Frances went on summer vacation to Los Angeles. She started working as an extra in movies just for fun. An extra is someone who appears in the background of a film.
Her big chance came when she was still an extra. She was offered a main role opposite a famous actor, Maurice Chevalier, in the movie ... of Paris.
People really liked her in two films with popular actors Charles "Buddy" Rogers and Richard Arlen. This led to her co-starring role in An American Tragedy. In this movie, she played Sondra Finchley.
Frances Dee acted in many other movies. Some of her well-known films include June Moon, Little Women, and Becky Sharp. She also starred with her husband, Joel McCrea, in the Western movie Four Faces West (1948).
Family Life
Frances Dee met actor Joel McCrea while working on the movie The Silver Cord in 1933. They quickly fell in love and got married on October 20, 1933.
They stayed married for a very long time, until Joel McCrea passed away in 1990. They lived on their ranch in California, where they raised their children and rode horses.
The McCreas later gave hundreds of acres of their land to the YMCA. This land became part of the city of Thousand Oaks, California. Joel McCrea died on their 57th wedding anniversary.
Frances Dee was honored at the Memphis Film Festival in Tennessee in 1998. She passed away in Norwalk, Connecticut, in 2004, at the age of 94. She had complications from a stroke.
Key Films
Here are some of the important films Frances Dee appeared in:
- ... of Paris (1930)
- June Moon (1931)
- An American Tragedy (1931)
- Little Women (1933)
- Of Human Bondage (1934)
- Becky Sharp (1935)
- Souls at Sea (1937)
- Wells Fargo (1937)
- If I Were King (1938)
- I Walked With a Zombie (1943)
- Four Faces West (1948)
- Payment on Demand (1951)
- Mister Scoutmaster (1953)
See also
In Spanish: Frances Dee para niños
