Gloria Swanson Net Worth
Gloria Swanson Net Worth is
$12 Million
Gloria Swanson Bio/Wiki, Net Worth, Married 2018
Gloria May Josephine Swanson (/ˈswɑːnsən/; March 27, 1899 – April 4, 1983) was an American actress, singer and producer, who is best known for her role as Norma Desmond, a reclusive silent film star, in the critically acclaimed film Sunset Boulevard (1950). She was one of the most prominent stars during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille. She starred in dozens of silent films and was nominated for the first Academy Award in the Best Actress category. She also produced her own films, including Sadie Thompson and The Love of Sunya. In 1929, Swanson transitioned to talkies with The Trespasser. Personal problems and changing tastes saw her popularity wane during the 1930s when she moved into theater and television. | Date Of Birth | March 27, 1899 |
| Died | 1983-04-04 |
| Place Of Birth | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Height | 5' 1" (1.55 m) |
| Profession | Actress, Soundtrack, Producer |
| Education | Hawthorne Scholastic Academy |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Henri de la Falaise (divorced) |
| Children | Gloria Swanson Somborn, Sonny Smith adopted, Michele Bridget Farmer |
| Parents | Adelaide Klanoski, Joseph Svensson |
| Awards | Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture – Drama, National Board of Review Award for Best Actress |
| Nominations | Academy Award for Best Actress, Golden Globe Award for Best TV Star - Female |
| Movies | Sunset Boulevard, Sadie Thompson, Queen Kelly, The Trespasser, Why Change Your Wife?, Male and Female, The Love of Sunya, Don't Change Your Husband, Beyond the Rocks, The Affairs of Anatol, Madame Sans-Gêne, Tonight or Never, Manhandled, Teddy at the Throttle, The Danger Girl, Airport 1975, What a ... |
| TV Shows | Killer Bees, Hollywood Opening Night, Burke's Law, Crown Theatre with Gloria Swanson |
| Star Sign | Aries |
| # | Trademark |
|---|---|
| 1 | Her mole |
| # | Quote |
|---|---|
| 1 | [during the first screening of The Impossible Mrs. Bellew (1922)} Did we make that on location or in the studio? |
| 2 | I haven't a very great sense of humor. When I see a comedy I laugh with the others. I'm sufficiently amused, but when it's over I have a feeling that I am not taking anything away with me. I don't think that comedy, unless it has a great deal of irony in it, corresponds to anything in life. It makes me feel vacant - just as though I had gone to a restaurant hungry and come away without eating. |
| 3 | They won't ever let me forget Sunset Blvd. (1950). Maybe I shouldn't have done it. These people who watch the film now never heard of me. They weren't alive when I did silent films. They think I was Norma Desmond, and I keep telling them Norma Desmond was a creation, not a real character. I NEVER was Norma Desmond, and I don't know anyone who lived like that! |
| 4 | [on showing pictures of herself] You notice there are NO bathing beauty scenes? And I'll tell you why: I was never a Sennet bathing beauty. Those glossies that sometimes turn up were publicity stills that I unfortunately made as a favor when I had a free hour. And I've paid for it all of my life. |
| 5 | Under God we became the freest, strongest, wealthiest nation on earth. Should we change that? |
| 6 | [on being transported by police through a mob of fans to the premiere of The Trespasser (1929)] As I felt my feet leave the ground, I could tell that someone behind me was standing on my train, so I screamed for one of the horsemen to pick it up. I was now completely horizontal, face down, like a battering ram, and that is the way they carried me through the crowd and into the theater lobby. |
| 7 | Two of the more trivial topics I never discuss are my marriage [of three weeks] to Wallace Beery and those frozen dinners which have become famous with my name on them. |
| 8 | [In a 1965 interview with DeWitt Bodeen] The public didn't want the truth, and I shouldn't have bothered to give it to them. In those days they wanted us to live like kings. So we did--and why not? We were in love with life. We were making more money than we ever dreamed existed, and there was no reason to believe it would ever stop. |
| 9 | [on Erich von Stroheim] The experience of working with him was unlike any I had had in more than 50 pictures. He was so painstaking and slow that I would lose all sense of time, hypnotized by the man's relentless perfectionism. |
| 10 | Hollywood has called me in turn "The Clothes Horse", "The Old Grey Mare"--and "Death of a Saleswoman". Since my comeback in Sunset Blvd. (1950), I'm glad to say they've thought up a new title: "Gloss". |
| 11 | Every victory is also a defeat. |
| 12 | By the time I was 15, my mother had turned me into a real clotheshorse. |
| 13 | At 26, I felt myself a victim rather than a victor in the realm of pictures. |
| 14 | As Daddy said, life is 95 percent anticipation. |
| 15 | All they had to do was put my name on a marquee and watch the money roll in. |
| 16 | A crisis arose when several newspapers questioned whether my singing voice was real. I had not sung--they wanted to know why. |
| 17 | After years of negotiating, I felt bitter and resentful about Mr. Lasky [Jesse L. Lasky] and Paramount and I knew I always would. |
| 18 | After seven years in one place, not to mention two marriages and 32 pictures, I felt I had earned a vacation. |
| 19 | After 16 years in pictures I could not be intimidated easily, because I knew where all the skeletons were buried. |
| 20 | [on Marlene Dietrich] Her legs may be longer than mine, but unlike me, she doesn't have 7 grandchildren. |
| 21 | It's amazing to find that so many people, who I thought really knew me, could have thought that Sunset Blvd. (1950) was autobiographical. I've got nobody floating in my swimming pool. |
| 22 | [on her pre-Cecil B. DeMille years as a comedienne working for Mack Sennett] I played my comedies like Duse [serious classical actress Eleonora Duse], which is probably why I was so funny. |
| 23 | [on her role in Airport 1975 (1974)] I was holding out for a picture I could take my grandchildren to see, something exciting and contemporary without senseless violence. |
| 24 | [To her mother following her triumphant return to Hollywood in 1924 after making Madame Sans-Gêne (1925) in France] It's the saddest night of my life. I'm just 26. Where do I go from here? |
| 25 | [In 1922] I have gone through a long apprenticeship. I have gone through enough of being a nobody. I have decided that when I am a star, I will be every inch and every moment the star! Everybody from the studio gateman to the highest executive will know it. |
| 26 | When I die, my epitaph should read "She Paid the Bills". That's the story of my private life. |
| 27 | I've given my memoirs far more thought than any of my marriages. You can't divorce a book. |
| 28 | I think all this talk about age is foolish. Every time I'm one year older, everyone else is too. |
| 29 | All creative people should be required to leave California for three months every year. |
| 30 | I have decided that when I am a star, I will be every inch and every moment a star. |
| # | Fact |
|---|---|
| 1 | She and her Hollywood (1923) co-star Jacqueline Logan both died on April 4, 1983. |
| 2 | Was Daisy "Granny" Moses' favorite movie star in The Beverly Hillbillies TV series. In referring to Swanson, Granny would always say: "We's lookalikes, y'know". |
| 3 | Most biographers overlook her appearance on the ABC TV variety show The Hollywood Palace (1964). At the end of the first winter-spring season, series producers Nick Vanoff and William O. Harbach scheduled the show's host Gene Barry with guest stars Swanson and Buster Keaton to appear together in a comedy sketch. Keaton was at that time appearing in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963). Bringing famous Hollywood film stars onto the show was the producers' main goal. Getting Swanson and Keaton on the show was considered a coup and an opportunity to promote the film. The sketch starred Swanson as Cleopatra and Keaton as Marc Antony, staged on a stepped Roman platform terrace surrounded by a 20-inch-high parapet wall and Roman columns, with the pair falling in love. It was written by Joe Bigelow and Jay Burton, but director Grey Lockwood encouraged Swanson and Keaton to contribute any bits, routines and ideas that they wanted to, which they did. On the first day of rehearsal Swanson was on the stage, gazing up at the lighting fixtures overhead. She asked for lighting director Jack Denton to come to the stage, which he did, and Swanson began pointing out how she wanted which lights to focus on her and Keaton during the sketch--side light, key light, back light, which color gels to use, etc. Denton made sure that all of her suggestions were implemented. Keaton's idea was that the sketch should end with "Antony" and "Cleopatra" sitting on the parapet wall bench, join hands, and fall backwards out of sight over the wall. He and Swanson rehearsed the fall several times, and did the stunt themselves when it came time to actually shoot the scene for the show. |
| 4 | Her father was of Swedish descent. Her mother was of Polish, German, and French ancestry. |
| 5 | She was awarded 2 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 6750 Hollywood Boulevard; and for Television at 6301 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. |
| 6 | Underwent an abortion in 1917 during her marriage to Wallace Beery. Swanson called it one of the biggest regrets of her life. |
| 7 | Gave birth to her 1st child at age 21, a daughter Gloria Swanson Somborn on October 7, 1920. Child's father was her 2nd husband, Herbert K. Somborn. |
| 8 | Gave birth to her 2nd child at age 33, a daughter Michele Bridget Farmer (aka Michele Farmer on April 5, 1932. Child's father was her 4th husband, Michael Farmer. |
| 9 | Was considered for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939), which went to Vivien Leigh. |
| 10 | In 1964, she was one of many guest speakers at the Project Prayer Rally in Los Angeles, California. |
| 11 | Upon her death, her remains were interred at the Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest in New York City. Her location plot is the Columbium in the basement of the church on the left side of the wall towards the back of the room. |
| 12 | A Republican, she was the head of the council for "Seniors for Reagan-Bush". |
| 13 | She was the first star to win back-to-back Oscar nominations, for Sadie Thompson (1928) in 1929 and for The Trespasser (1929) in 1930. |
| 14 | The first film shown at the original Roxy Theatre at 153 West 50th Street, New York City, was Swanson's The Love of Sunya (1927) in March 1927, and she attended the premiere. At its demolition in 1961, she posed in its ruins as a final farewell. |
| 15 | Known for her extravagant lifestyle, it was reported that she earned $8,000,000 between 1918 and 1929 and spent nearly all of it. By the time of her death in 1983, her gross estate was valued at just over $1,440,000. |
| 16 | She cited Madame Sans-Gêne (1925) (now lost) as her personal favorite of all her films. |
| 17 | Claimed to have detested writing her autobiography. |
| 18 | During the early 1920s, she had a falling-out with close friend Blanche Sweet. The dispute was over a man, and Sweet never forgave her. |
| 19 | Cited Beyond the Rocks (1922) as one of her favorite films from her silent career. |
| 20 | Was very close friends with actor Dirk Benedict. She introduced him to macrobiotics. Dirk has said that she was like a mother to him. They met working on the play "Butterflies Are Free", where Swanson played Benedict's mother. |
| 21 | Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives." Volume One, 1981-1985, pages 776-778. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998. |
| 22 | When she died, her book collection was sold to the Gotham Book Mart in New York City. All of the books were concerned with health and nutrition. |
| 23 | Her performance as Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd. (1950) is ranked #31 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time. |
| 24 | One of her best friends was actress Lois Wilson. |
| 25 | Was engaged to Marshall Neilan for some time in the 1920s. |
| 26 | Hated acting in slapstick comedy, which was pretty much all of her early career. |
| 27 | Mother of a biological daughter, Gloria, by her second husband, and also of an adopted son, Joseph Patrick, whom everyone thought (erroneously) was named for her lover at the time, Joseph P. Kennedy (father/founder of the Kennedy political clan). |
| 28 | Wrote her own autobiography in rebuttal to certain claims made by Rose Kennedy in her 1974 memoirs. |
| 29 | Met her third husband, the Marquis (or "Marquess") Henri de la Falaise, when he worked as her interpreter in France on Madame Sans-Gêne (1925). |
| 30 | Her last husband, William Dufty, was a well-known author of books and a few screenplays, such as Lady Sings the Blues (1972), the Billie Holiday story. It was Dufty, translator of "You Are All Sanpaku", by George Ohsawa, who was influenced by Swanson to take an interest in health and become involved in holistic-health related literature. |
| 31 | Godmother of director/writer Dirk Wayne Summers, and had signed to appear in The Great Sex War (1969), a film he was producing in Mexico. However, Swanson and her soon to be husband, William Dufty, took it upon themselves (without being asked) to rewrite the screenplay. The "changes" in the script that Swanson desired were not ones that Summers wanted to include, so they mutually released each other from their contracts. This did not impact their close relationship, apparently. Swanson accompanied Summers to Mexico for a location scouting trip. |
| 32 | Second husband Herbert K. Somborn ran Hollywood's legendary Brown Derby restaurant from 1926 until his death in 1934. |
Actress
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Nick of Time Baby | 1916 | Short | The Blacksmith's Daughter |
| Haystacks and Steeples | 1916 | Short | Gloria - the Society Girl |
| The Danger Girl | 1916 | Short | The Danger Girl - Reggie's Madcap Sister |
| A Social Cub | 1916 | Short | Gloria |
| Hearts and Sparks | 1916 | Short | Gloria - Bobby's Sweetheart |
| A Dash of Courage | 1916 | Short | The Prominent Citizen's Daughter |
| Sunshine | 1916 | Short | |
| The Broken Pledge | 1915 | Short | Gloria (as Gloria Mae) |
| The Romance of an American Duchess | 1915 | Short | Minor Role (uncredited) |
| Sweedie Goes to College | 1915 | Short | Betty - College Girl |
| The Fable of Elvira and Farina and the Meal Ticket | 1915 | Short | Farina, Elvira's Daughter (as Gloria Mae) |
| His New Job | 1915 | Short | Stenographer (uncredited) |
| The Ambition of the Baron | 1915 | Short | Minor Role (uncredited) |
| At the End of a Perfect Day | 1915 | Short | Hands Bouquet to Holmes (uncredited) |
| The Misjudged Mr. Hartley | 1915 | Short | Maid |
| The Song of the Soul | 1914 | Short unconfirmed | |
| Airport 1975 | 1974 | Gloria Swanson | |
| Killer Bees | 1974 | TV Movie | Madame Maria von Bohlen |
| Ben Casey | 1965 | TV Series | Victoria Hoffman |
| My Three Sons | 1965 | TV Series | Margaret McSterling |
| Burke's Law | 1963-1964 | TV Series | Miss Lily Boles / Venus Hekate Walsh |
| The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | 1964 | TV Series | Mrs. Daniels |
| Kraft Suspense Theatre | 1964 | TV Series | Mrs. Charlotte Heaton |
| Dr. Kildare | 1963 | TV Series | Julia Colton |
| Straightaway | 1961 | TV Series | Lorraine Carrington |
| The Steve Allen Plymouth Show | 1957 | TV Series | Norma Desmond |
| Nero's Mistress | 1956 | Agrippina | |
| Hollywood Opening Night | 1953 | TV Series | |
| Three for Bedroom C | 1952 | Ann Haven | |
| Sunset Blvd. | 1950 | Norma Desmond | |
| Dear Miss Gloria | 1946 | Short | Miss Gloria |
| Father Takes a Wife | 1941 | Leslie Collier | |
| Music in the Air | 1934 | Frieda Hotzfelt | |
| Perfect Understanding | 1933 | Judy Rogers | |
| Tonight or Never | 1931 | Nella Vago | |
| Indiscreet | 1931 | Geraldine 'Gerry' Trent | |
| What a Widow! | 1930 | Tamarind Brook | |
| The Trespasser | 1929 | Marion Donnell | |
| Queen Kelly | 1929 | Kitty Kelly / Queen Kelly | |
| Sadie Thompson | 1928 | Sadie Thompson | |
| The Love of Sunya | 1927 | Sunya Ashling | |
| Fine Manners | 1926 | Orchid Murphy | |
| The Untamed Lady | 1926 | St. Clair Van Tassel | |
| Stage Struck | 1925 | Jennie Hagen | |
| The Coast of Folly | 1925 | Joyce Gathway / Nadine Gathway | |
| Madame Sans-Gêne | 1925 | Catherine Hubscher | |
| Wages of Virtue | 1924 | Carmelita | |
| Her Love Story | 1924 | Princess Marie | |
| Manhandled | 1924 | Tessie McGuire | |
| A Society Scandal | 1924 | Marjorie Colbert | |
| The Humming Bird | 1924 | Toinette | |
| Zaza | 1923 | Zaza | |
| Bluebeard's Eighth Wife | 1923 | Mona deBriac | |
| Prodigal Daughters | 1923 | Swifty Forbes | |
| My American Wife | 1922 | Natalie Chester | |
| The Impossible Mrs. Bellew | 1922 | Betty Bellew | |
| Beyond the Rocks | 1922 | Theodora Fitzgerald | |
| Her Gilded Cage | 1922 | Suzanne Ornoff | |
| Her Husband's Trademark | 1922 | Lois Miller | |
| Don't Tell Everything | 1921 | Marian Westover | |
| Under the Lash | 1921 | Deborah Krillet | |
| The Affairs of Anatol | 1921 | Vivian Spencer - Anatol's Wife | |
| The Great Moment | 1921 | Nada Pelham Nadine Pelham | |
| Something to Think About | 1920 | Ruth Anderson | |
| Why Change Your Wife? | 1920 | Beth Gordon | |
| Male and Female | 1919 | Lady Mary Lasenby | |
| For Better, for Worse | 1919 | Sylvia Norcross | |
| Don't Change Your Husband | 1919 | Leila Porter | |
| Wife or Country | 1918 | Short | Sylvia Hamilton |
| The Secret Code | 1918 | Sally Carter Rand | |
| Shifting Sands | 1918/I | Marcia Grey | |
| Everywoman's Husband | 1918 | Edith Emerson | |
| You Can't Believe Everything | 1918 | Patricia Reynolds | |
| Station Content | 1918 | Kitty Manning | |
| Her Decision | 1918 | Phyllis Dunbar | |
| Society for Sale | 1918 | Phylis Clyne | |
| The Pullman Bride | 1917 | Short | The Pullman Bride |
| The Sultan's Wife | 1917 | Short | Gloria |
| Whose Baby? | 1917/II | Short | The Wife |
| Baseball Madness | 1917 | Short | The Heiress |
| Teddy at the Throttle | 1917 | Short | Gloria Dawn - Bobby's Sweetheart |
Soundtrack
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1920s: The Dawn of the Hollywood Musical | 2008 | Video documentary performer: "Come to Me", "If You Haven't Got Love" - uncredited | |
| Sunset Blvd. | 1950 | "Sobre las Olas Over the Waves" 1887, uncredited / performer: "La Cumparsita" 1916 - uncredited | |
| Music in the Air | 1934 | performer: "One More Dance", "I'm So Eager", "I'm Alone" | |
| Perfect Understanding | 1933 | performer: "I Love You So Much That I Hate You" - uncredited | |
| Indiscreet | 1931 | performer: "If You Haven't Got Love", "Come to Me" - uncredited | |
| What a Widow! | 1930 | performer: "Love Is Like a Song", "Say 'Oui' Cheri", "You're the One", "Love, Your Magic Spell Is Everywhere" - uncredited | |
| The Trespasser | 1929 | performer: "Love, Your Magic Spell is Everywhere", "I Love You Truly", "Serenade" - uncredited |
Producer
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perfect Understanding | 1933 | producer | |
| What a Widow! | 1930 | producer | |
| Queen Kelly | 1929 | producer - uncredited | |
| Sadie Thompson | 1928 | producer - uncredited | |
| The Love of Sunya | 1927 | producer - uncredited |
Costume Designer
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three for Bedroom C | 1952 |
Miscellaneous
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Der Rosenkönig | 1986 | voice: from radio play |
Thanks
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hollywood | 1980 | TV Mini-Series documentary acknowledgment: film source | |
| Hollywood: The Golden Years | 1961 | TV Movie documentary acknowledgment: film source |
Self
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ciné regards | 1981 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
| Tomorrow Coast to Coast | 1981 | TV Series | Herself |
| Stars | 1981 | TV Series | Herself |
| Looks Familiar | 1981 | TV Series | Herself |
| Friday Night, Saturday Morning | 1981 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Merv Griffin Show | 1963-1980 | TV Series | Herself / Herself - Guest |
| Over Easy | 1980 | TV Series | Herself |
| Men Who Rate a 10 | 1980 | TV Special | Herself |
| Hollywood | 1980 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Herself |
| Parkinson | 1978 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Fim Society of Lincoln Center Tribute to George Cukor | 1978 | TV Movie | Herself |
| New York, New York | 1977 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Hollywood Squares | 1977 | TV Series | Herself - Panelist |
| The Mike Douglas Show | 1964-1976 | TV Series | Herself - Actress / Herself / Heself - Actress / ... |
| The Dream Factory | 1975 | Documentary | Herself |
| Donahue | 1975 | TV Series | Herself |
| Dinah! | 1974 | TV Series | Herself |
| ABC Late Night | 1974 | TV Series | Herself |
| Paramount Presents | 1974 | TV Movie | Herself - Host (as Miss Gloria Swanson) |
| The Carol Burnett Show | 1973 | TV Series | Herself |
| V.I.P.-Schaukel | 1973 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
| Living Easy with Dr. Joyce Brothers | 1973 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Age of Ballyhoo | 1973 | Video documentary | Herself - Narrator (voice) |
| The Dick Cavett Show | 1970-1972 | TV Series | Herself |
| Chaplinesque, My Life and Hard Times | 1972 | Documentary | Narrator (voice) |
| The David Frost Show | 1969-1971 | TV Series | Herself |
| Johnny Carson Presents the Sun City Scandals '70 | 1970 | TV Movie | Herself |
| The Joey Bishop Show | 1967-1969 | TV Series | Herself |
| Les dossiers de l'écran | 1969 | TV Series | Herself |
| Late Night Line-Up | 1968 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Eamonn Andrews Show | 1968 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Woody Woodbury Show | 1967 | TV Series | Herself |
| Dateline: Hollywood | 1967 | TV Series | Herself |
| Girl Talk | 1965-1967 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | 1967 | TV Series | Herself - Guest |
| The Beverly Hillbillies | 1966 | TV Series | Herself |
| Hollywood Talent Scouts | 1966 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Match Game | 1965 | TV Series | Herself - Team Captain |
| Cinéastes de notre temps | 1965 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
| What's My Line? | 1950-1965 | TV Series | Herself - Mystery Guest / Herself - Mystery Challenger |
| The Hollywood Deb Stars of 1965 | 1965 | TV Movie | Herself - Honorary Chairman |
| The Hollywood Palace | 1964 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Linkletter Show | 1964 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Celebrity Game | 1964 | TV Series | Herself |
| The World's Greatest Showman: The Legend of Cecil B. DeMille | 1963 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
| Howard K. Smith | 1963 | TV Series | Herself |
| Delta Kappa Alpha Silver Anniversary Banquet | 1963 | TV Movie documentary | Herself - Co-Host |
| The Jack Paar Tonight Show | 1959-1962 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Tonight Show | 1962 | TV Series | Herself - Actress |
| I've Got a Secret | 1952-1960 | TV Series | Herself - Guest / Herself - Celebrity Guest |
| Hedda Hopper's Hollywood | 1960 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
| The Big Party | 1959 | TV Series | Herself - Schick Razor pitchwoman |
| The Bob Hope Show | 1958 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Ben Hecht Show | 1958 | TV Series | Herself - Actress |
| The Mike Wallace Interview | 1957 | TV Series | Herself |
| This Is Your Life | 1957 | TV Series | Herself |
| Crown Theatre with Gloria Swanson | 1952-1955 | TV Series | Herself - Hostess |
| Person to Person | 1954 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
| Texaco Star Theatre | 1954 | TV Series | Herself |
| The 25th Annual Academy Awards | 1953 | TV Special | Herself - Accepting Honorary Award for Joseph M. Schenck |
| All Star Revue | 1952 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Kate Smith Evening Hour | 1952 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Ed Sullivan Show | 1950-1951 | TV Series | Herself |
| London Entertains | 1951 | Documentary | Herself (uncredited) |
| The Peter Lind Hayes Show | 1950 | TV Series | Herself - Actress |
| TV Club | 1950 | TV Series documentary | Herself - Actress |
| The Ed Wynn Show | 1950 | TV Series | Herself |
| Erskine Johnson's Hollywood Reel | 1949 | TV Series | Herself |
| Screen Snapshots Series 15, No. 8 | 1936 | Documentary short | Herself |
| Broadway Gossip No. 2 | 1932 | Short | Herself |
| Round About Hollywood | 1931 | Documentary short | Herself |
| Gloria Swanson Dialogue | 1925 | Short | Herself |
| Hollywood | 1923 | Herself | |
| Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 21 | 1923 | Documentary short | |
| Gloria Swanson and Thomas Meighan | 1922 | Short | Herself |
| Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 16 | 1922 | Documentary short | Herself |
| A Trip to Paramountown | 1922 | Documentary short | Herself |
| Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 1 | 1922 | Documentary short | Herself |
Archive Footage
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotellet | 2016 | Documentary | Herself |
| Million Dollar American Princesses | 2016 | TV Mini-Series | Herself |
| The Mack Sennett Collection: Volume One | 2014 | Video | |
| All Vows | 2014 | Short | |
| Arena | 1991-2012 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
| Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood | 2010 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Norma Desmond |
| Hollywood sul Tevere | 2009 | Documentary | Herself |
| House of Harrington | 2008 | Documentary short | |
| Diálogos de cine | 2008 | TV Movie | Norma Desmond |
| Spisok korabley | 2008 | Documentary | Sadie Thompson |
| Why Be Good? Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema | 2007 | Documentary | Herself |
| City Confidential | 2002-2007 | TV Series documentary | Norma Desmond / Herself |
| Billy Wilder Speaks | 2006 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
| Life Is a Dream in Cinema: Pola Negri | 2006 | Documentary | Herself |
| Silenci? | 2005 | TV Series | Norma Desmond |
| Cecil B. DeMille: American Epic | 2004 | TV Movie documentary | Herself - Interviewee |
| Sex at 24 Frames Per Second | 2003 | Video documentary | Herself (from Sadie Thompson) (uncredited) |
| The Kennedys: The Curse of Power | 2000 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
| Heroes of Comedy | 1999 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
| E! True Hollywood Story | 1998 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
| Judy Garland's Hollywood | 1997 | Video documentary | |
| Gloria Swanson: The Greatest Star | 1997 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
| The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies | 1995 | TV Movie documentary | Herself |
| The Casting Couch | 1995 | Video documentary | |
| Hollywood '84 | 1984 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Herself |
| Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter | 1982 | TV Movie documentary | Actress - Unidentified Mack Sennett Film (uncredited) |
| Hollywood | 1980 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Herself |
| The Carol Burnett Show | 1977 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Hollywood Palace | 1970 | TV Series | Herself |
| Hollywood My Home Town | 1965 | Documentary | Herself |
| The Love Goddesses | 1965 | Documentary | Herself |
| Hollywood: The Golden Years | 1961 | TV Movie documentary | Actress 'Teddy at the Throttle' (uncredited) |
| The Legend of Rudolph Valentino | 1961 | Video documentary | Herself |
| When Comedy Was King | 1960 | Documentary | edited from 'Teddy at the Throttle' |
| Screen Snapshots: The Great Director | 1951 | Documentary short | Herself |
| The Golden Twenties | 1950 | Documentary | Herself |
| Down Memory Lane | 1949 | Reluctant bride | |
| Happy Times and Jolly Moments | 1943 | Short uncredited | |
| Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 1 | 1937 | Documentary short | Herself |
| Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 11 | 1937 | Documentary short | Herself |
| The Camera Speaks | 1934 | Short | |
| March of the Movies | 1933 | Herself, film clip (uncredited) | |
| Hollywood on Parade No. B-5 | 1933 | Short | Herself (uncredited) |
| The House That Shadows Built | 1931 | Documentary |
Won Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Career Achievement Award | National Board of Review, USA | ||
| 1975 | Special Award | Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA | ||
| 1974 | Silver Medallion Award | Telluride Film Festival, US | ||
| 1960 | Star on the Walk of Fame | Walk of Fame | Motion Picture | On 8 February 1960. At 6750 Hollywood Blvd. |
| 1960 | Star on the Walk of Fame | Walk of Fame | Television | On 8 February 1960. At 6301 Hollywood Blvd. |
| 1951 | Golden Globe | Golden Globes, USA | Best Actress - Drama | Sunset Blvd. (1950) |
| 1951 | Silver Ribbon | Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists | Best Foreign Actress (Migliore Attrice Straniera) | Sunset Blvd. (1950) |
| 1951 | Diploma of Merit | Jussi Awards | Foreign Actress | Sunset Blvd. (1950) |
| 1950 | NBR Award | National Board of Review, USA | Best Actress | Sunset Blvd. (1950) |
Nominated Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Golden Globe | Golden Globes, USA | Best TV Star - Female | Burke's Law (1963) |
| 1951 | Gold Medal | Picturegoer Awards | Best Actress | Sunset Blvd. (1950) |
| 1951 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Sunset Blvd. (1950) |
| 1930 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Actress in a Leading Role | The Trespasser (1929) |
| 1929 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Sadie Thompson (1928) |
3rd Place Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | NYFCC Award | New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Actress | Sunset Blvd. (1950) |
Known for movies
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
as Norma Desmond
Queen Kelly (1929)
as Kitty Kelly / Queen Kelly
The Trespasser (1929)
as Marion Donnell
Indiscreet (1931)
as Geraldine 'Gerry' Trent