
Deanna Durbin
Biography
Edna Mae Durbin (December 4, 1921 – April 17, 2013), known professionally as Deanna Durbin, was a Canadian-born actress and singer, who moved to the USA with her family in infancy. She appeared in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s. With the technical skill and vocal range of a legitimate lyric soprano, she performed many styles from popular standards to operatic arias. In 1946, Durbin was the second-highest-paid woman in the United States, just behind Bette Davis; her fan club ranked as the world's largest during her active years. Durbin was a child actress who made her first film appearance with Judy Garland in Every Sunday (1936), and subsequently signed a contract with Universal Studios. She achieved success as the ideal teenaged daughter in films such as Three Smart Girls (1936), One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937), and It Started with Eve (1941). Her work was credited with saving the studio from bankruptcy, and led to Durbin being awarded the Academy Juvenile Award in 1938. As she matured, Durbin grew dissatisfied with the girl-next-door roles assigned to her and attempted to move into sophisticated non-musical roles with film noir Christmas Holiday (1944) and the whodunit Lady on a Train (1945). These films, produced by frequent collaborator and second husband Felix Jackson, were not as successful; she continued in musical roles until her retirement. Upon her retirement and divorce from Jackson in 1949, Durbin married producer-director Charles Henri David and moved to a farmhouse near Paris. She withdrew from public life, granting only one interview on her career in 1983.
Personal Info
Gender
Female
Birthday
1921-12-04
Place of Birth
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Images






Cast
Lady on a Train
19456.6 / 10
It Started with Eve
19417.1 / 10
Christmas Holiday
19446.3 / 10
Nice Girl?
19415.3 / 10
First Love
19397.8 / 10
Mad About Music
19386.9 / 10
One Hundred Men and a Girl
19376.4 / 10
Something in the Wind
19476.3 / 10
That Certain Age
19385.1 / 10
The Amazing Mrs. Holliday
19436.4 / 10
Because of Him
19466.2 / 10
Three Smart Girls
19366.3 / 10
Three Smart Girls Grow Up
19397.1 / 10
His Butler's Sister
19437.1 / 10
Every Sunday
19363.8 / 10
Can't Help Singing
19445.1 / 10
Los Angeles Plays Itself
20047.6 / 10
For the Love of Mary
19485.8 / 10
I'll Be Yours
19476.0 / 10
It's a Date
19406.4 / 10
Hers to Hold
19436.9 / 10
Spring Parade
19406.7 / 10
Up in Central Park
19487.0 / 10
The Shining Future
19444.0 / 10
That's Entertainment!
19747.3 / 10
Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story
20020.0 / 10
Show-Business at War
19437.0 / 10
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
19406.5 / 10
Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song
20026.4 / 10
Hollywood’s Children
19820.0 / 10
A Friend Indeed
19410.0 / 10
Angels of Mercy
19400.0 / 10