1. Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies
2. James D. Bissell to Marlon Brando

Claire Bloom Biography (1931-)

Original name, Patricia Claire Blume; born February 15, 1931, in London, England; daughter of Edward Max (in sales) and Elizabeth (Grew) Blume; married Rod Steiger (an actor), September 19, 1959 (divorced, January, 1969); married Hillard Elkins (a director and producer), August 14, 1969 (divorced, 1972 [onesource says 1973]); married Philip Roth (a writer), April 29, 1990 (divorced, March, 1995 [one source says 1993]); children: (first marriage) Anna Justine Steiger (an opera singer). Education: Trained for the stage with Eileen Thorndike at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, 1946-48; also attended the Central School of Speech and Drama, 1947-48. Avocational interests: Opera, music, needlepoint. Addresses: Agent-- The MarionRosenberg Agency, 8428 Melrose Pl., West Hollywood, CA 90069-5308. Contact-- Jeremy Conway, 18-21 Jermyn St., SW1Y 6HB London, England. Career: Actress. Affiliated with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), beginning in 1946; Hunter College of the City University of New York, distinguished visiting professor, 1989-90; narrator with the Boston Symphony Orchestra,Chicago Symphony, Melbourne Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and the Philadelphia Symphony. Member: Actors' Equity Association, Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Awards, Honors: British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award, most outstanding newcomer to film, and Elle Award, both 1952, for Limelight; Drama Desk Award, outstanding performances, 1971, for A Doll's House and Hedda Gabler; Outer Critics Circle Award, c. 1971, for Hedda Gabler; Drama League Distinguished Performance Award (with others), 1972; Plays andPlayers Award, best actress, and London Evening Standard/VarietyClub Award, both 1974, for A Streetcar Named Desire; Emmy Award nomination, outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or special, 1982, for Brideshead Revisited; British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award, best actress, 1985, for Shadowlands; Antoinette Perry Award nominations, 1998 and 1999; fellow, Guildhall School of Music. Addresses: Agent: The Marion Rosenberg Agency, 8428 Melrose Pl., West Hollywood, CA 90069-5308.; Contact: Jeremy Conway, 18-21 Jermyn St., SW1Y 6HB London, England.

Nationality

English

Gender

Female

Occupation

Actress

Birth Details

February 15, 1931

London, England

Famous Works

• CREDITS
• Film Appearances
• Mary Dearing, The Blind Goddess, General Films, 1947
• Teresa ("Terry"), Limelight, United Artists, 1952
• Voice characterization (English language version), The Shepherdess andthe Chimneysweep(also known as La bergere et le ramoneur; animated), L'Alliance Generale de Distribution Cinematographique/Lippert Pictures, 1952
• Susanne Mallison, The Man Between, United Artists, 1953
• Susan Robbins, Innocents in Paris(also known as Week-end a Paris), Tudor, 1955
• Barsine, Alexander the Great(also known as Alejandro Magno), United Artists, 1956
• Lady Anne Neville, Richard III, Lopert, 1956
• Bonnie Brown, The Buccaneer, Paramount, 1958
• Katya, The Brothers Karamazov(also known as Karamazov and The Murderer Dmitri Karamazov), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1958
• Helena Charles, Look Back in Anger, Warner Bros., 1959
• Voice of the shepherdess, Adventures of Mr. Wonderbird(also knownas Adventures of Mr. Wonderful; animated), [France], 1959
• Irene Andreny, Die Schachnovelle(also known as Brainwashed, The Royal Game, and Three Steps to Freedom), Associated Artists, 1960
• Dorothea Grimm, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1962
• Naomi Shields, The Chapman Report, Warner Bros., 1962
• Ada, Il maestro di Vigevano(also known as The Teacher from Vigevano), De Laurentiis, 1963
• Julie Monks, 80,000 Suspects, Rank, 1963
• Theodora, The Haunting, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1963
• Laura, Alta infedelta(also known as High Infidelity and Haute infidelite), De Laurentiis, 1964
• Wife, The Outrage, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1964
• Nan Perry, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Paramount, 1965
• Alice Kinian, Charly, Cinerama, 1968
• Felicia, The Illustrated Man, Warner Bros./Seven Arts, 1969
• Frances Howard, Three into Two Won't Go, Universal, 1969
• Ann Arnold, Red Sky at Morning, Universal, 1970
• Honor Klein, A Severed Head, Columbia, 1971
• Nora, A Doll's House, Paramount, 1973
• Audrey, Islands in the Stream, Paramount, 1977
• Hera, Clash of the Titans, United Artists, 1981
• Always, Samuel Goldwyn Company, 1985
• Eleanor Harvey, Deja Vu, Cannon, 1985
• Alice, Sammy and Rosie Get Laid(also known as Sammy and Rosie), Cinecom, 1987
• Miriam Rosenthal, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Orion, 1989
• (Uncredited) The Age of Innocence, Columbia, 1993
• Voice of the fairy godmother, The Princess and the Goblin(also known as A hercegnoe es a kobold), Hemdale Releasing, 1993
• Amanda's mother, Mighty Aphrodite, Buena Vista/Miramax, 1995
• Stringer's wife, Mad Dogs and Englishmen(also known as Shameless), BMG Video, 1995
• Eleanor Trilling, Daylight, Universal, 1996
• Lulu Fraker, Wrestling with Alligators, Homegrown Pictures, 1998
• Television Appearances
• Series
• Orlena Grimaldi, As the World Turns, CBS, 1993-95
• Frances Pye, Family Money, Channel Four, 1997
• Miniseries
• Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, Backstairs at the White House, NBC, 1979
• Lady Marchmain, Brideshead Revisited, Granada Television, 1981 broadcast on Great Performances, PBS, 1982
• This Lightning Always Strikes Twice, Granada Television, 1984
• Rebecca Weiler, Ellis Island, CBS, 1984
• Vicky Kelley, Queenie, ABC, 1987
• Sophy, The Camomile Lawn, Channel Four, 1992
• Anne Devereaux Rawlings, Remember(also known as Barbara TaylorBradford's Remember), NBC, 1993
• Voice characterization, The Irish in America: The Long Journey Home, PBS, 1998
• Elinor, Imogen's Face,[Great Britain], 1998 American Movie Classics, 1999
• Movies
• Cathy, Wuthering Heights, BBC, 1962
• A Legacy,1975
• Anna Karenina, CBS, 1985
• Fanny Nightingale, Florence Nightingale, NBC, 1985
• Sally, Promises to Keep, CBS, 1985
• Czarina Alexandra, Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna(also known as Anastasia), NBC, 1986
• Edwina (Lady Dunvale), Hold the Dream, Channel Four, 1986
• Madame Bartholdi, Liberty, NBC, 1986
• Ruth Gregory, Intimate Contact, HBO, 1987
• Lady Florence Delamere, Beryl Markham: A Shadow on the Sun(also known as Shadow on the Sun and A Shadow on the Sun: The Life of BerylMarkham), CBS, 1988
• Lady Emma Darlington, The Lady and the Highwayman(also known as Dangerous Love), CBS, 1989
• Maria Cruz, Pas de deux, Yorkshire Television, 1990
• Evelyn Whitloff, It's Nothing Personal, NBC, 1993
• Cecily, A Village Affair,[Great Britain], 1994
• Emma Sachs, The Lady in Question, Arts and Entertainment, 1999
• Nina Love, Love and Murder(also known as Criminal Instincts: Love and Murder), CTV, 2000
• Specials
• Juliet, Romeo and Juliet,1955
• Title role, "Anna Karenina," The 25th Anniversary of BBC-TV, BBC,1961 broadcast on BBC Drama, BBC, 1964
• Queen Anne, "Soldier in Love" (also known as "George Schaefer's Showcase Theatre" and "George Schaefer's Showcase Theatre: Soldier in Love"),Hallmark Hall of Fame, NBC, 1967
• Sasha, Ivanov, CBS, 1967
• Wessex Tales: An Imaginative Woman,[Great Britain], 1973
• The Oresteia,1978
• Catherine of Aragon, "Henry VIII," BBC Television Shakespeare, BBC-2, 1979 broadcast on Shakespeare Plays, PBS, 1979
• Gertrude, "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" (also known as "Hamlet"), BBC Television Shakespeare, BBC-2, 1980 broadcast on Shakespeare Plays,PBS, 1980
• Voice, "Misunderstood Monsters," CBS Children's Library, CBS,1981
• Miss Cooper, Separate Tables, HBO, 1982
• Queen, "Cymbeline," BBC Television Shakespeare, BBC-2, 1982 broadcast on Shakespeare Plays, PBS, 1982
• Hope Louff, "The Ghost Writer," American Playhouse, PBS, 1984
• Constance, "The Life and Death of King John" (also known as "King John"),BBC Television Shakespeare, BBC-2, 1985 broadcast on Shakespeare Plays, PBS, 1985
• Joy Davidman, Shadowlands(also known as C. S. Lewis through theShadowlands), [Great Britain], 1985 Arts and Entertainment, 1989
• Jocasta, "Oedipus the King," The Theban Plays, PBS, 1988
• The Story of Anna Akhmatova(documentary), PBS, 1991
• Narrator, "Martha Graham: The Dancer Revealed," American Masters,PBS, 1994
• Mrs. Tynan, "What the Deaf Man Heard," Hallmark Hall of Fame, CBS,1997
• Brush Up Your Shakespeare, PBS, 1999
• Host, Juliet, Lady Anne, Portia, Rosalind, Gertrude, Imogen, Volumnia, Lady Constance, Catherine of Aragon, and Emilia, Shakespeare's Women with Claire Bloom, Bravo, 1999
• Episodic
• Cleopatra, "Caesar and Cleopatra," Producers' Showcase, NBC, 1956
• Roxane, "Cyrano de Bergerac," Producers' Showcase, NBC, 1956
• "First Love," Goodyear Playhouse, NBC, 1957
• "Victoria Regina," Robert Montgomery Presents, NBC, 1957
• Juliet, "Romeo and Juliet," Producers' Showcase, NBC, 1957
• "Beauty and the Beast," Shirley Temple's Storybook, NBC, 1958
• Person to Person, CBS, 1959
• "Misalliance," Playhouse 90, CBS, 1959
• "Through a Dark Glass," Checkmate, CBS, 1961
• "Claire Bloom Reads Poetry," Camera Three, CBS, 1964
• Margaret Chapman, "A Time to Love," Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theater, NBC, 1967
• "Ice Storm," Great Mysteries, syndicated, 1973 broadcast as Orson Welles' Great Mysteries, Anglia Television, 1974
• "Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and Beyond," Biography, Arts and Entertainment, 1990
• Marina Gregg, "The Mirror Crack'd" (also known as "The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side"), Miss Marple(also known as Miss Marple: The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side), BBC, Arts and Entertainment, andNetwork 7, 1992
• Narrator, "Man-Eaters of India," National Geographic Explorer, TBS, 1997
• Herself, "Charlie Chaplin: A Tramp's Life," Biography, Arts and Entertainment, 1998
• Other Television Appearances
• The Going Up of David Lev,1971
• In Praise of Love,1975
• Time and the Conways,1985
• Also appeared in Ann and Debbie.
• Stage Appearances
• Helen, An Italian Straw Hat, Oxford Repertory Theatre, Oxford, England, 1946
• Jessie, Pink String and Sealing Wax, Oxford Repertory Theatre, 1946
• Private Jesse Killigrew, It Depends What You Mean, Oxford Repertory Theatre, 1946
• He Who Gets Slapped, Under Thirty Group, Duchess Theatre, London,England, 1947
• The White Devil, Duchess Theatre, 1947
• Erinna, The Wanderer, His Majesty's Theatre, London, England,1947
• Lady Blanche, King John, Stratford-upon-Avon Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, England, 1948
• Ophelia, Hamlet, Stratford-upon-Avon Memorial Theatre, 1948
• Perdita, The Winter's Tale, Stratford-upon-Avon Memorial Theatre, 1948
• Alizon Eliot, The Lady's Not for Burning, Globe Theatre, London, England, 1949
• Daphne Randall, The Damask Creek, Lyric Theatre, London, England,1949
• Isabelle, Ring around the Moon, Globe Theatre, 1950
• Jessica, The Merchant of Venice, Old Vic Company, Old Vic Theatre,London, England, 1952-53
• Juliet, Romeo and Juliet, Old Vic Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1952-53
• Ophelia, Hamlet, Edinburgh Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1953 then Old Vic Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1953-54
• Helena, All's Well That Ends Well, Old Vic Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1953-54
• Miranda, The Tempest, Old Vic Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1953-54
• Viola, Twelfth Night, Old Vic Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1953-54
• Virgilia, Coriolanus, Old Vic Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1953-54
• Cordelia, King Lear, Palace Theatre, London, England, then Shakespeare Memorial Theatre (formerly the Stratford-upon-Avon Memorial Theatre), Stratford-upon-Avon, England, both 1955
• Juliet, Romeo and Juliet, Old Vic Company, Old Vic Theatre, then Winter Garden Theatre, New York City, both 1956
• Queen, Richard II, Old Vic Company, Winter Garden Theatre, 1956
• Lucille, Duel of Angels, Apollo Theatre, London, England, 1958
• Wife, Rashomon, Music Box Theatre, New York City, 1959
• Johanna, Altona, Royal Court Theatre, London, England, then Saville Theatre, London, England, 1961
• Andromache, The Trojan Women, Spoleto Festival of the Two Worlds,Teatro Caio Melisso, Spoleto, Italy, 1963
• Sasha, Ivanov, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford, England, then Phoenix Theatre, London, England, 1965
• Title role, Hedda Gabler, Playhouse Theatre, New York City, 1971
• Nora, A Doll's House, Playhouse Theatre, then Eisenhower Theatre, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC, 1971
• Mary, Queen of Scots, Vivat! Vivat Regina!, Broadhurst Theatre, New York City, 1972
• Nora, A Doll's House, Criterion Theatre, London, England, 1973
• Blanche Dubois, A Streetcar Named Desire, Piccadilly Theatre, London, England, 1974
• Miss Giddens, The Innocents, Morosco Theatre, New York City, 1976
• Rebecca West, Rosmersholm, Haymarket Theatre Royal, London, England, 1977
• Madame Ranyeskvya, The Cherry Orchard, Chichester Festival, Chichester, England, 1981
• These Are Women: A Portrait of Shakespeare's Heroines(solo show), London, England, 1982-83
• Irena, When We Dead Waken, Almeida Theatre, London, England, 1990
• Daughters, Wives and Mothers, London, England, 1991
• Silenced Voices, London, England, 1992
• Women in Love, London, England, 1993
• The Cherry Orchard, London, England, 1994
• Medea, "Medea," Sturm und Drang(musical), Opera House/Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn, New York City, 1994
• Mary Tyrone, Long Day's Journey into Night, American RepertoryTheatre, Cambridge, MA, 1996
• Clytemnestra, Electra, Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York City, beginning in 1998
• A Mother's Day Salute to America's Founding Mothers of Liberty, PECO Energy Liberty Center, Independence Mall, Philadelphia, PA, 2000
• Appeared as Lyubov, The Cherry Orchard, American Repertory Theatre; also appeared in Time Remembered.
• Major Tours
• Juliet, Romeo and Juliet, Canadian and U.S. cities, 1956-57
• Queen, Richard II, U.S. cities, 1957
• These Are Women: A Portrait of Shakespeare's Heroines(solo show), English and U.S. cities, 1982-83
• RECORDINGS
• Videos
• "The World of Emily Dickinson," The Master Poets Collection, Monterey Movie Company, 1998
• Taped Readings
• Prince Caspian (Chronicles of Narnia), HarperAudio, 1984
• The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, HarperAudio, 1984
• The Tale of Jeremy Fisher, HarperAudio, 1984
• The Tale of the Two Bad Mice, HarperAudio, 1984
• The Tailor of Gloucester and the Pie and the Patty Pan, HarperChildren's Audio, 1985
• Under the Greenwood Tree: Shakespeare for Young People, Stemmer House, 1986
• The Borrowers, HarperAudio, 1988
• Daughter of the House, Chivers Audio Books, 1988
• Diary of a Young Girl, HarperAudio, 1988
• The Tale of Mr. Toad and the Tale of Timmy Tiptoes, HarperAudio, 1989
• All's Well That Ends Well, HarperAudio, 1990
• The Book of J Set, HarperAudio, 1991
• The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies and Five Other Stories by Beatrix Potter, HarperAudio, 1991
• Vanity Fair: A Portrait of Becky Sharp, HarperAudio, 1991
• Victorian Poetry, HarperAudio, 1991
• Dick Whittington and His Cat and Other English Fairy Tales, HarperAudio, 1992
• Madame Bovary, Penguin Audiobooks, 1992
• The Secret Garden: 40th Anniversary Edition, Caedmon Audio Cassette, 1992
• The Story of Swan Lake, HarperAudio, 1992
• The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin and Other Stories, HarperAudio, 1992
• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Complete Collection, HarperAudio, 1993
• Waiting for Willa, Chivers North America, 1993
• The Magician's Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia), Caedmon Audio Cassette, 1995
• The Story of the Nutcracker: Adapted by Janet Schulman, Caedmon Audio Cassette, 1995
• Tales by Beatrix Potter, HarperAudio, 1995
• "The Shawl," Jewish Short Stories from Eastern Europe and Beyond,National Yiddish Book Center, 1995
• The Jane Austen Sampler: Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, HarperAudio, 1996
• Jane Eyre, HarperAudio, 1996
• Romeo and Juliet, Caedmon Audio Cassette, 1996
• Rabin: Our Life, His Legacy, Simon & Schuster Audio, 1997
• The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Other Stories, Dove Books Audio, 1997
• Cousin Bette, Penguin Audiobooks, 1998
• The Gift of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels, Simon & Schuster Audio, 1998
• Also appeared in Childe Rowland and Other British Fairy Tales, HarperAudio; Great Short Stories from around the World, Blackstone; Dame Judith Anderson: Reading the Book of Judith/Claire Bloom: Reading the Bookof Ruth; Hansel and Gretel/40th Anniversary Edition; and Little Red Riding Hood and the Dancing Princesses.
• WRITINGS
• Nonfiction
• Limelight and After: The Education of an Actress, Harper (New YorkCity), 1982
• Leaving a Doll's House: A Memoir, Little, Brown (Boston, MA),1996
• Contributor to books, including Celebrity Needlepoint, by John Scobey and Lee Parr McGrath, Dial (New York City), 1972.

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals:

• Booklist, March 15, 1997 , p. 1252.
• New Statesman, December 20, 1996 , pp. 82-83.
• People Weekly, October 28, 1996 , pp. 63-65.
• PR Newswire, May 9, 2000 , p. 7929.
• Publishers Weekly, November 1, 1991 October 5, 1992.