In Irene Dunne’s four decades as an actress, she was nominated for an Oscar five times, but the award always eluded her. Yet, performing at a high level throughout her career earned her the first nomination in 1931 – just one year after she had landed her first film – and her last in 1949, two years before she retired from the silver screen at the age of 54.
Here are a list of awards and highlights of Irene Dunne’s career:
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Academy Awards
Dunne received nominations for five performances, including “Cimarron” in 1931 where she played Sabra Cravat in the Western alongside Richard Dix. Her next nomination came 20 movies and six years later with the title role in “Theodora Goes Wild” in 1937.
Her best-known role in “The Awful Truth” earned her a nomination the very next year, but resulted in another loss, this time to Luise Rainer for “The Good Earth.” In 1940, Dunne was again among the list of leading ladies up for an Oscar for “Love Affair,” and
her final nomination came in 1948 for “I Remember Mama,” which is the role IMDb.com states, “This was the picture in which she should have won the Oscar.”
Many refer to Dunne as “the greatest actress to never in the Academy Award ... but it was never competitive for her; she proved with her life that she was not bridled by ambition.”
Best Dressed
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In 1958, Dunne was named to the “International Best-Dressed List Hall of Fame,” and she was often listed on many other best-dressed lists during her time.
Of her fashionable notoriety, Dunne once said in a newspaper interview, “Perhaps it is because of the way I buy clothes. I don’t buy many, but what I do buy are of the best. When I look for an outfit, I don’t want one that will merely last for a season. I make sure the clothes are well made and I generally pick things along classic lines. It’s not unusual for my things to last six or eight years.”
Other Awards
Dunne received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Feb. 8, 1960, at 6440 Hollywood Blvd., but perhaps her greatest recognition came when she was named an alternate U.S. delegate to the U.N. Dunne said, “When you are a member of a 10-men team,” she says, “you can only get to know a small part of what’s going on in the UN. But that part is dramatic and exciting beyond words. Nothing in Hollywood has quite the same quality, for at the United Nations all the problems of the world parade before your eyes.”
Of receiving the call at home from the White House, Dunne recalled the moment as one of the few in her life when she was left speechless, and rightly so, since she was the first entertainer to be selected – “a tribute both to her charm and to the high concept of public service she has demonstrated many times in the past.”
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