Paulette Goddard

Paulette Goddard (born Pauline Marion Levy on June 3, unknown -April 23, 1990) was an American actress. A former child model and Ziegfield Girl, she was a major star of the Paramount Studio in the 1940s. Her exceptional beauty and fame led to several marriages to notable men, including Charlie Chaplin, Burgess Meredith, and Erich Maria Remarque, although she never had any children.

Later life

Goddard was married to actor Burgess Meredith from 1944 to 1949. In 1958 she married All Quiet on the Western Front author Erich Maria Remarque. They remained married until his death in 1970. Goddard settled in Ronco, Switzerland, where she died following a short battle with emphysema (she was also a breast cancer survivor). In her will, she left $20,000,000 (USD) to New York University (NYU), due to her friendship with Indiana-born politician and former NYU President John Brademas.

Related Topics:
Burgess Meredith - All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque - Ronco - Switzerland - John Brademas

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There has been much speculation as to Goddard's age. The late actress Claire Trevor, whom was born in 1910 and went to high school with her, claimed that Goddard was a year older than herself. If true, this would place Goddard's year of birth at 1909.

Related Topics:
Claire Trevor - 1910

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However, 1910 is the year inscribed on her gravestone in Ronco cemetery in Switzerland, while Swiss authorities document her birthyear, probably taken from a passport, as 1905. Various other sources also list her birthyear as 1905, 1910, 1911, 1913 or 1914, and 1915. Ziegfeld lists Goddard's birthyear as both 1911 and 1913, but this same source also seems to confuse her age at the time of her stage debut with Ziegfeld, stating her age as 13 when she appeared in No Foolin in 1926, overlooking that she became a member of the Follies in 1924. Further discrepancies may also be the result of sources giving conflicting information as to Goddard's birthyear on birth certificates, passports, and other legal documents, as well as Goddard's tendency to conceal her age. In her earlier work Goddard was sometimes credited as Marian Levy, and only began using Goddard in subsequent productions.

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She is buried in Ronco cemetery in Switzerland, where her late husband, Erich Maria Remarque, is also buried.

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