In 1937 Janet Gaynor starred in the hit romantic drama A Star Is Born. The thirty year old actress was already one of Hollywood's most successful film stars but she was about to leave her career behind.
She was born Laura Augusta Gainor on October 6, 1906, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her parents divorced when she was seven and her mother remarried. The family lived in Chicago, Illinois before moving to Los Angeles, California. After high school she enrolled in secretarial school and worked in a shoe store. Janet decided to try acting and began working as an extra in 1924. Her first major role was in the 1926 drama The Johnstown Flood. She was chosen to be one of the 1926 Wampas baby stars and signed a five year contract at Fox. Janet and Charles Farrell co-starred in twelve films together including 7th Heaven, Sunny Side Up, and High Society Blues. The petite actress was usually cast as wholesome, likeable characters. In 1929 she won the first Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles in Seventh Heaven, Sunrise, and Street Angel.
Janet Gaynor and Fredric March in A Star Is Born
She married Jesse Peck, an attorney, on September 11, 1929 but they divorced a few years later. Janet was bi-sexual and enojyed a long romance with Margaret Lindsay. By 1934 she was the top female box-office star in the country and was earning $3,000 a week. She was nicknamed "The World's Sweetheart". Then in the Fall of 1936 she was cast as Vicky Lester, an aspiring actress who falls in love with an alcoholic actor, in A Star Is Born. The movie was produced by David O'Selznick and directed by William A. Wellman. It had a budget of over one million dollars. This was the only Technicolor film Janet ever appeared in. Fredric March played Norman Maine, her tragic love interest. It's been rumored that the relationship between Vicky and Norman was loosely based on Barbara Stanwyck and Frank Fay's unhappy marriage.
Janet, Adolphe Menjou, and Fredric March in A Star Is Born
Another inspiration for the character of Norman Maine was John Bowers, who committed suicide after marrying Marguerite De La Motte. The large cast included Adolphe Menjou, May Robson, Elizabeth Jenns, and Andy Devine. Helene Chadwick and Carole Landis appeared as uncredited extras. A Star Is Born was an enormous hit when it was released on April 20, 1937. The movie got rave reviews and was nominated for seven Academy Awards. Janet was nominated again for the Best Actress Oscar but she lost to Luise Rainer. Although A Star Is Born was the biggest hit of her career she decided to retire from acting just one year after it's release. In 1939 she married bisexual fashion designer Gilbert Adrian. The couple had a son named Robin and owned homes in New York and Brazil. She spent a lot of her free time traveling and started a second career as an artist. Her paintings were exhibited in galleries all over the country.
During the 1950s she began a romance with actress Mary Martin that lasted for decades. Tragically in 1959 her husband Adrian died from a stroke. A few years later she married producer Paul Gregory. Janet acted occasionally but never resumed her career full-time. In 1981 she starred on Broadway in a production of Harold And Maude. The following year was seriously injured in a car accident. Sadly she never fully recovered and died from pneumonia on September 14, 1984. Janet was seventy-seven years old. She was cremated and her ashes were buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California. Today A Star Is Born is considered one of the greatest classic films. It is such a timeless Hollywood story that it's been remade three times - in 1954 with Judy Garland, in 1976 with Barbra Streisand, and in 2018 with Lady Gaga.
