# Clara Bow
**Clara Bow** (born Clara Gordon Bow, July 29, 1905; died September 27, 1965) was an American film actress who became one of the biggest stars of the silent era and the original "It Girl," a label coined around her 1927 film *It* that entered the language as a term for a woman with magnetic sex appeal.[1](https://www.silentera.com/people/actresses/Bow-Clara.html) • [2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/media/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/bow-clara-1905-1965) She made 46 silent films and 11 talking pictures between 1922 and 1933, and retired from acting in December 1934.[3](https://time.com/6969048/clara-bow-taylor-swift-song/) • [4](https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-clara-bow)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | July 29, 1905, Brooklyn, New York; September 27, 1965, West Los Angeles, of heart failure[1](https://www.silentera.com/people/actresses/Bow-Clara.html) |
| Discovery | Won Motion Picture magazine's Fame and Fortune Contest in 1921; the prize was a part in *Beyond the Rainbow* (1922), though her scenes were cut from the first release[5](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/clara-bow) • [6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/136010/clara-bow-discovering-the-it-girl) |
| Signature films | *It* (1927), which made her the "It Girl," and *Wings* (1927), the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture[4](https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-clara-bow) |
| First talkie | *The Wild Party* (1929); Paramount gave her two weeks to prepare, and the microphone frightened her[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/136010/clara-bow-discovering-the-it-girl) |
| Fan mail | By 1928 she received significantly more fan mail than any other Paramount star[5](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/clara-bow) |
| Marriage | Married cowboy actor Rex Bell (George F. Beldon) on December 3, 1931, in Las Vegas; he later became Lieutenant Governor of Nevada[1](https://www.silentera.com/people/actresses/Bow-Clara.html) • [4](https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-clara-bow) |
| Retirement | Final films *Call Her Savage* (1932) and *Hoop-La* (1933) for Fox; retired December 17, 1934[4](https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-clara-bow) |
## Early life
Bow was born into extreme poverty in Brooklyn to a mentally ill mother and an abusive father, and she sought refuge at the movies.[5](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/clara-bow) Her mother raged against acting as an "evil" pursuit and once stood over Clara with a knife, threatening to kill her in her sleep.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/136010/clara-bow-discovering-the-it-girl) A regular reader of *Motion Picture* magazine, she entered and won the magazine's Fame and Fortune Contest in 1921; the prize was a small part in *Beyond the Rainbow* (1922), and although her scenes were cut from the final product, she soon signed a contract with producer B. P. Schulberg of Preferred Pictures, later part of Paramount.[5](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/clara-bow) Her next picture, *Down to the Sea in Ships* (1922), got her noticed and took her to Hollywood.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/136010/clara-bow-discovering-the-it-girl)
## Stardom and the "It Girl"
In *Black Oxen* (1924), Bow played a flapper, the madcap 1920s girl who defied social conventions, and her career exploded; audiences flocked to her films regardless of their plots.[5](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/clara-bow) After Schulberg moved to Paramount in 1926, her biggest picture to that point was *Mantrap*, directed by [Victor Fleming](https://www.edgepedia.org/victor-fleming), which earned her a five-year contract and quadrupled her salary.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/136010/clara-bow-discovering-the-it-girl)
**The *It* campaign.** The 1927 film *It* was based on a novella by Elinor Glyn, an English writer of racy best sellers; at the time, "It" was considered a code word for sex. Schulberg devised a publicity campaign in which Paramount purchased the film rights, paid Glyn $50,000, and gave her a bit part, all on condition that she declare Clara Bow to be the It Girl. The film was a smash hit and turned Bow from a star into an icon.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/136010/clara-bow-discovering-the-it-girl) With her performance in *It*, she transformed almost overnight into the [Jazz Age](https://www.edgepedia.org/jazz-age) icon called "the 'It' Girl," and became the dominant sex symbol of the 1920s and 1930s.[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/media/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/bow-clara-1905-1965) Later the same year she appeared in *[Wings](https://www.edgepedia.org/wings-1927-film)*, the first film to win the Oscar for Best Picture.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/136010/clara-bow-discovering-the-it-girl)
Her popularity with fans stayed undiminished even as her offscreen behavior, including numerous love affairs and candid revelations about her childhood, alienated Hollywood society; by 1928 she received more fan mail than any other Paramount star.[5](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/clara-bow)
## The transition to sound
Bow starred in her first talkie, *The Wild Party*, in 1929.[4](https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-clara-bow) The coming of sound made her nervous, and Schulberg gave her only two weeks to prepare; the film's success was essentially assured because fans were curious to hear her voice, but the microphone frightened her, and her second sound picture, *Dangerous Curves* (1929), proved no easier on her nerves. For *Love Among the Millionaires* (1930) she had to sing as well.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/136010/clara-bow-discovering-the-it-girl)
A popular story holds that her Brooklyn accent sounded so grating that it destroyed her career. This is a myth. The BBC has called the "grating accent" claim a myth, noting it was repeated in [Bill Bryson](https://www.edgepedia.org/bill-bryson)'s book *One Summer: America 1927*.[7](https://bbcinsight.pages.dev/culture/article/20141222-who-was-the-original-it-girl) Encyclopedia.com states that Bow completed several successful movies requiring dialogue and that her voice did not doom her as it did other stars attempting the silent-to-talkie transition, though the strain of controlling her accent and memorizing lines took its toll.[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/media/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/bow-clara-1905-1965) EBSCO's research summary likewise says she successfully transitioned to sound in *The Wild Party*.[5](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/clara-bow)
## Scandals, breakdown, and retirement
Bow's reputation and mental health were damaged by unrelenting gossip about her relationships, spending habits, and unconventional lifestyle.[4](https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-clara-bow) In January and February 1931, her former secretary Daisy De Voe was brought to court for theft of Bow's money and property; in the sensational trial, Bow's personal life was exposed to the public. De Voe was charged with 35 counts but convicted of one count of grand theft, embezzling $825, and sentenced to five years probation. Bow suffered a mental breakdown, was hospitalized, and was dropped by Paramount.[4](https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-clara-bow) A breakdown on the set of *Kick In* (1931) ended her Paramount career at age 25.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/136010/clara-bow-discovering-the-it-girl)
In December 1931 she married the cowboy star Rex Bell, and the couple bought a ranch in Nevada.[4](https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-clara-bow) Fox offered her $125,000 to make two final films, *Call Her Savage* (1932) and *Hoop-La* (1933).[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/136010/clara-bow-discovering-the-it-girl) She retired from acting on December 17, 1934, to focus on being a mother to her newborn son, Rex Jr., and in 1935 she and Bell sold their California properties and moved to Nevada.[4](https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-clara-bow) Her post-Hollywood years were not easy, and at times she had to be institutionalized.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/136010/clara-bow-discovering-the-it-girl) She died of heart failure in West Los Angeles on September 27, 1965.[1](https://www.silentera.com/people/actresses/Bow-Clara.html)
## Legacy and preservation
Few of Bow's films survive in complete form. Of her silent features, *True to the Navy* (1930) is, according to archivist James Cozart, the only one whose original camera negative survives.[8](https://lcweb2.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/pub158.final_version_sept_2013.pdf) Two of her 1927 films, *It* and *Wings*, are on the Library of Congress National Film Registry.[9](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/pub158.final_version_sept_2013.pdf)
She continued to be highly regarded by fellow performers: when silent film actors and crew members cast votes in 1957 to name the finest screen artists of their generation, only [Greta Garbo](https://www.edgepedia.org/greta-garbo) placed ahead of Bow.[5](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/clara-bow) Her story has continued to circulate in popular culture. [Margot Robbie](https://www.edgepedia.org/margot-robbie) said the traumatic upbringing of the onetime "It Girl" Clara Bow helped her understand her character Nellie LaRoy in *Babylon* (2022).[10](https://time.com/6241419/babylon-true-story/) In 2024, [Taylor Swift](https://www.edgepedia.org/taylor-swift) named the closing track of *The Tortured Poets Department* "Clara Bow."[3](https://time.com/6969048/clara-bow-taylor-swift-song/)
One detail of her record remains unsettled: most sources give her birth year as 1905, but one Encyclopedia.com biographical entry states she was born July 29, 1904, "and not 1905 as usually given."[1](https://www.silentera.com/people/actresses/Bow-Clara.html) • [11](https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/bow-clara-1904-1965)
## References
1. [Clara Bow, Silent Era](https://www.silentera.com/people/actresses/Bow-Clara.html)
2. [Bow, Clara (1905-1965), Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/media/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/bow-clara-1905-1965)
3. [What Taylor Swift's 'Clara Bow' Does-And Doesn't-Have to Do With the 1920s Superstar, TIME](https://time.com/6969048/clara-bow-taylor-swift-song/)
4. [Clara Bow: Topics in Chronicling America, Library of Congress](https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-clara-bow)
5. [Clara Bow, EBSCO Research Starters](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/clara-bow)
6. [Clara Bow: Discovering the "It" Girl, Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/136010/clara-bow-discovering-the-it-girl)
7. [Clara Bow: The original 'It Girl', BBC](https://bbcinsight.pages.dev/culture/article/20141222-who-was-the-original-it-girl)
8. [The Survival of American Silent Feature Films: 1912-1929, Library of Congress](https://lcweb2.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/pub158.final_version_sept_2013.pdf)
9. [The Survival of American Silent Feature Films: 1912-1929, Library of Congress (Registry list)](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/pub158.final_version_sept_2013.pdf)
10. [The Real History Behind Babylon's Outrageous Hollywood Tale, TIME](https://time.com/6241419/babylon-true-story/)
11. [Bow, Clara (1904-1965), Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/bow-clara-1904-1965)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Silent-era and early-cinema performers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license