This intelligent, warmly maternal character actress first made her mark in the theater in the late 1930s and early 40s. After stock work, the native New Yorker made her Broadway debut in "Glorianna" (1938), then went on to create the role of the raucous Ado Annie (the "girl who can't say no") in the original 1943 stage production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!". Holm went on to star as the early feminist Dolly Bloomer in the musical "Bloomer Girl" (1944) before moving to features. She continued to make stage appearances throughout her career, making her return in "Affairs of State" (1950), starring as Anna in "The King and I" (1952), assuming the role of "Mame" in 1966, portraying writer Janet Flanner in "Paris Was Yesterday" (1977-79) and appearing in the troubled production of "I Hate Hamlet" (1991).
Holm signed a long-term contract with 20th Century-Fox and made her screen debut in 1946 as one of the "Three Little Girls in Blue." Though pretty in a "smart blonde" way, Holm wasn't the typical Hollywood cutie, and Fox was hard-pressed to cast her. After the forgettable "Carnival in Costa Rica" (1947), she earned critical acclaim (and a Best Supporting Actress Oscar) as Gregory Peck's lovelorn co-worker in "Gentleman's Agreement" (1947). Holm appeared in a total of nine Fox film through 1950, turning in superb supporting performances as one of the unfortunate denizens of "The Snake Pit" (1948), a nun in "Come to the Stable" (1949), and, most notably, Bette Davis' sweet-natured best pal in the classic "All About Eve" (1950).
After her release from Fox, Holm freelanced in films, between stage and TV assignments. She partnered Frank Sinatra in "The Tender Trap" (1955) and "High Society" (1956)--though he was four years older, Sinatra played the romantic lead and Holm was the wry, aging "spinster." The rest of her films consisted of small, good roles in such fare as the silly farce "Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding" (as Sandra Dee's mother, 1967), as Aunt Polly in the musical "Tom Sawyer" (1973), as Ted Danson's mother in "Three Men and a Baby" (1987), and as Brendan Fraser's musical grandmother in the independent romantic comedy "Still Breathing" (1997).
Holm has been very busy on TV since the early 1950s, when she appeared on such anthologies as "The Lux Video Theater," "Climax!", "Zane Grey Theater" and many others. She headlined her own series, playing a New York reporter in "Honestly, Celeste!" (CBS, 1954), and has been featured as a regular on the series "Nancy" (NBC, 1970-71), "The Delphi Bureau" (ABC, 1972-73), and the ABC soap "Loving" (1986, opposite her fourth husband Wesley Addy). She returned to series work as Gerald McRaney's mother in the CBS drama "Promised Land" (1996-99) and also had a recurring role on the short-lived UPN cop drama "The Beat" (2000).
She has also appeared in numerous specials, miniseries and TV-movies, winning particular attention for her performance as Florence Harding in "Backstairs at the White House" (NBC, 1979). Holm was also a welcome and reliable presence in "The Yeoman of the Guard" (NBC, 1957), as the wife of "The Man in the Dog Suit" (NBC, 1960), the fairy godmother in "Cinderella" (CBS, 1965), a nun in "The Captain and the Kings" (NBC, 1976), Miss Snow in the saccharine musical "Polly" (NBC, 1989) and its 1990 sequel. She also set sail on both "Death Cruise" (ABC, 1974) and "The Love Boat II" (ABC, 1977). More recently, she has been seen in the "Strangers on a Train" re-make "Once You Meet a Stranger" (CBS, 1996). While her more glamorous contemporaries fell by the wayside, Holm has aged gracefully and has continued to be a welcome presence in many mediums for more than half a century.
Family
FATHER: Theodor Holm. Insurance executive. Born in Norway.
MOTHER: Jean Holm. Portrait artist, writer.
SON: Theodore Nelson. Writer, computer programmer. Father, Ralph Nelson.
SON: Daniel Dunning. Father, A Schuyler Dunning.
Companion
HUSBAND: Ralph Nelson. Director. Married in 1938; divorced.
HUSBAND: Francis E E Davis. Married in January 1940; divorced.
HUSBAND: A Schuyler Dunning. Married in 1946; divorced in 1952.
HUSBAND: Wesley Addy. Actor. Married from May 26, 1966 until his death on December 31, 1996.
Milestone
1936 - 1937: First professional role was in a production of "Hamlet," starring Leslie Howard
1938: Broadway debut in "Glorianna"
1938: Had featured role in the Broadway play, "The Time of Your Life"
1943: Originated the role of Ado Annie in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, "Oklahoma!"
1944: Starred in the Broadway production of "Bloomer Girl"
1946: Signed to a movie contract under 20th Century Fox
1946: Made film debut in "Three Little Girls in Blue"
1947: Received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in "Gentleman's Agreement"
1948: Voiced Addie Ross, the unseen woman who authored the title letter in "A Letter to Three Wives"
1948: Co-starred with Olivia de Havilland in "The Snake Pit"
1949: Portrayed a French nun opposite Loretta Young in "Come to the Stable"; earned a Best Supporting Oscar nomination
1950: Played a supporting role in the classic film, "All About Eve"; received third Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination
1950: Returned to the Broadway stage with "Affairs of State"
1952: Played the role of Anna in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, "The King and I"
1954: Starred in the CBS series, "Honestly, Celeste!"
1955: Offered a fine supporting turn in "The Tender Trap"; first of two films with Frank Sinatra
1956: Co-starred in a TV production of "Jack and the Beanstalk" (NBC)
1956: Supported Sinatra, Grace Kelly and Bing Crosby in the musical "High Society"; last film for six years
1965: Starred alongside Lesley Ann Warren as the Fairy Godmother in the CBS television production of "Cinderella"
1966: Succeeded Angela Lansbury in the title role of the Broadway musical "Mame"; toured in the part from 1967 until 1969
1968: Earned an Emmy nomination for an appearance on the syndicated religious-themed program "Insight"
1970 - 1971: Played the press secretary of the First Lady in the NBC sitcom "Nancy"
1972 - 1973: Played a regular role on the ABC series "The Delphi Bureau"
1973: Resumed feature film career after six year absence playing Aunt Polly in the musical "Tom Sawyer"
1975: Returned to Broadway as part of the American cast of the British hit "Habeas Corpus"
1976: Portrayed a nun in the NBC miniseries "Captains and the Kings"
1977: Last film for ten years, "The Private Files of J Edgar Hoover"
1977: First played writer Janet Flanner in the one-woman show, "Paris Was Yesterday" at the George Street Playhouse in New Jersey; reprised role briefly Off-Broadway in 1979
1979: Returned to stage musicals in the Broadway flop "The Utter Glory of Morrissey Hall"
1979: Cast as First Lady Florence Harding in "Backstairs at the White House" (NBC); earned Emmy nomination
1986: Briefly joined the cast of the ABC soap opera "Loving"; co-starring her fourth husband Wesley Addy
1987: Made one-shot return to films after a decade in "Three Men and a Baby"
Portrayed Jaclyn Smith's mom in the limited TV series "Christine Cromwell" (ABC)
1989: Had role of Miss Snow in "Polly," the NBC remake of "Pollyanna"
1990: Reprised role of Miss Snow in "Polly Comin' Home!" (NBC)
1991: Was back on Broadway in "I Hate Hamlet"
1996 - 1999: Played mother of Gerald McRaney in the CBS series "Promised Land"; also made appearances in the same role on CBS' "Touched By and Angel"
1997: Again made one-shot return to films as Brendan Fraser's grandmother in "Still Breathing"
2000: Had recurring role on the UPN police drama "The Beat"
2000: Returned to the stage as co-star of "Don Juan in Hell" at Off-Broadway's Irish Repertory Theater
2009: Announced she'll be retiring from big screen roles
Education
City College of New York - New York, NY
Lycee Victor Duruy - Paris, France
Sorbonne - Paris, France
University High School for Girls - Chicago, IL
University of Chicago - Chicago, IL
University of Chicago - Chicago, IL - drama
"In this country, there is currently too much emphasis on sports, which brings out aggression, whereas the arts bring us together in harmony. Is there ant better example of disciplined cooperation than a symphony orchestra?" --Celeste Holm, quoted in The New York Times, April 25, 1996.
About the making of "All About Eve", Holm was quoted in Vanity Fair (April 1999):
"Bette Davis was so rude, so constantly rude. . . . Why I walked onto the set about the first or second day and said 'Good morning,' and do you know her reply? She said, 'Oh shit, good manners.' I never spoke to her again--ever."
"There was one bitch in the cast [of "All About Eve"]: Celeste Holm." --Bette Davis
Holm was knighted by King Olav of Norway in 1979.
Holm was arrested for protesting the demolition of two classic Broadway theaters in 1982.
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