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IMDbPro

Donna Reed(1921-1986)

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Donna Reed
The Donna Reed Show: Season One
Play trailer0:44
Mutter ist die Allerbeste (1958–1966)
21 Videos
99+ Photos
Donna Reed was born in the midwestern town of Denison, Iowa, on January 27, 1921, as Donna Belle Mullenger. A small town - a population of less than 3,000 people - Denison was located by the Boyer River, and was the county seat of Crawford County. Donna grew up as a farm girl, much like many young girls in western Iowa, except for one thing - Donna was very beautiful. That wasn't to say that others weren't as pretty, it's just that Donna's beauty stood out from all the other local girls, so much so that she won a beauty contest in Denison. Upon graduation from high school Donna left for college in Los Angeles, in the hopes of eventually entering movies. While at Los Angeles City College, she pursued her dream by participating in several college stage productions. In addition to the plays, she also won the title of Campus Queen. At one of those stage plays Donna was spotted by an MGM talent scout and was signed to a contract. Her first film was a minor role in MGM's Allein unter Gangstern (1941). That was followed by a small part in Babes on Broadway (1941), with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland as a secretary. She then won her breakthrough role in Der Schatten des dünnen Mannes (1941). Afterwards, MGM began giving her better parts, in films such as The Bugle Sounds (1942), The Courtship of Andy Hardy (1942) and The Man from Down Under (1943). In 1944 she received second billing playing Carol Halliday in See Here, Private Hargrove (1944), a comedy about a reporter drafted into the army who eventually meets up with Donna's character as a worker in the canteen. The following year Donna starred in Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray (1945), her best role to date. It was a love story set in London in 1890. It got mixed critical reviews but did well at the box-office. Donna was now one of the leading ladies of Hollywood. In 1946 she starred in what is probably her best-known role, as the wife of James Stewart in the classic Ist das Leben nicht schön? (1946). This timeless story is a holiday staple to this day. The film also starred Lionel Barrymore and Thomas Mitchell. The next year Donna starred as Ann Daniels in Paramount's Beyond Glory (1948) with Alan Ladd, which did well at the box-office. Her next role was the strongest she had had yet--Todesfalle von Chikago (1949), again with Ladd. It was one of the best mystery dramas to come out of Hollywood in a long time, and did very well at the box office. As the 1940s faded out and the 1950s stormed in, Donna's roles got bigger but were mainly of the wholesome, girl-next-door type. In 1953, however, she starred as the hostess Alma in the widely acclaimed Verdammt in alle Ewigkeit (1953). She was so good in that film she was nominated for and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, beating out such veterans as Thelma Ritter and Marjorie Rambeau. The film itself won for Best Picture and remains a classic to this day. Later that year Donna starred in Der Tolpatsch (1953), a comedy with Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin. Three years later she landed the role of Sacajawea in Am fernen Horizont (1955), the story of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, starring Charlton Heston and Fred MacMurray. After finishing Besuch um Mitternacht (1958), Donna began her own TV series (produced by her husband), Mutter ist die Allerbeste (1958), a hit that ran for eight years. She was so effective in the show that she was nominated for TV's prestigious Emmy Award as Best Actress every year from 1959-1962. She was far more popular in TV than on the screen. After the run of the program, Donna took some time away from show business before coming back in a couple of made-for-TV movies (in 1974, she had made a feature called Welcome to Arrow Beach (1973), but it was never released). She did get the role of Ellie Ewing Farlow in the hit TV series Dallas (1978) during the 1984-85 season. It was to be her final public performance. On January 14, 1986, less than two weeks before her 65th birthday, she died of pancreatic cancer in Beverly Hills, California. Grover Asmus, her husband, created the Donna Reed Foundation for the Performing Arts in her hometown of Denison. The foundation helps others who desire a career in the arts. Donna never forgot her roots. She was still a farm girl at heart.
BornJanuary 27, 1921
DiedJanuary 14, 1986(64)
BornJanuary 27, 1921
DiedJanuary 14, 1986(64)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Won 1 Oscar
    • 5 wins & 9 nominations total

Photos263

Donna Reed
Donna Reed
Frank Capra and Donna Reed in Ist das Leben nicht schön? (1946)
Donna Reed
Donna Reed and Shepard Menken in Die Benny Goodman Story (1956)
Donna Reed and Wilton Graff in Die Benny Goodman Story (1956)
Donna Reed in Die Benny Goodman Story (1956)
Donna Reed and Herbert Anderson in Die Benny Goodman Story (1956)
Donna Reed in Die Benny Goodman Story (1956)
Donna Reed, Hy Averback, and Herbert Anderson in Die Benny Goodman Story (1956)
Donna Reed, Hy Averback, Steve Allen, and Herbert Anderson in Die Benny Goodman Story (1956)
Donna Reed in Die Benny Goodman Story (1956)

Known for

James Stewart and Donna Reed in Ist das Leben nicht schön? (1946)
Ist das Leben nicht schön?
8.6
  • Mary Hatch
  • 1946
Verdammt in alle Ewigkeit (1953)
Verdammt in alle Ewigkeit
7.6
  • Alma - aka Lorene
  • 1953
Shelley Fabares, Donna Reed, Carl Betz, and Paul Petersen in Mutter ist die Allerbeste (1958)
Mutter ist die Allerbeste
7.4
TV Series
  • Donna Stone
Donna Reed, Eddie Calvert, Cornel Wilde, and Ron Randell in Jenseits Mombasa (1956)
Jenseits Mombasa
5.7
  • Ann Wilson
  • 1956

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress

  • Victoria Principal, Barbara Bel Geddes, Patrick Duffy, Larry Hagman, Charlene Tilton, Jim Davis, Linda Gray, and Steve Kanaly in Dallas (1978)
    Dallas
    7.1
    TV Series
    • Miss Ellie Ewing
    • 1984–1985
  • Fred Grandy, Bernie Kopell, Ted Lange, Gavin MacLeod, and Lauren Tewes in Love Boat (1977)
    Love Boat
    6.3
    TV Series
    • Polly Sullivan
    • 1984
  • Highschool Killer (1983)
    Highschool Killer
    5.2
    TV Movie
    • Miss Wade
    • 1983
  • The Best Place to Be (1979)
    The Best Place to Be
    7.3
    TV Movie
    • Sheila Callahan
    • 1979
  • Shelley Fabares, Donna Reed, Carl Betz, and Paul Petersen in Mutter ist die Allerbeste (1958)
    Mutter ist die Allerbeste
    7.4
    TV Series
    • Donna Stone
    • 1958–1966
  • Pepe - Was kann die Welt schon kosten (1960)
    Pepe - Was kann die Welt schon kosten
    5.4
    • Donna Reed
    • 1960
  • Stewart Granger, Donna Reed, George Sanders, and Gianna Maria Canale in Besuch um Mitternacht (1958)
    Besuch um Mitternacht
    6.2
    • Carol Poulton
    • 1958
  • Suspicion (1957)
    Suspicion
    8.2
    TV Series
    • Letty Jason
    • 1957
  • Ronald Reagan in General Electric Theater (1953)
    General Electric Theater
    6.8
    TV Series
    • Rayna
    • 1957
  • Donna Reed, Eddie Calvert, Cornel Wilde, and Ron Randell in Jenseits Mombasa (1956)
    Jenseits Mombasa
    5.7
    • Ann Wilson
    • 1956
  • Donna Reed and Richard Widmark in Das Geheimnis der fünf Gräber (1956)
    Das Geheimnis der fünf Gräber
    6.6
    • Karyl Orton
    • 1956
  • Menschenraub (1956)
    Menschenraub
    6.9
    • Edith Stannard
    • 1956
  • Donna Reed and Steve Allen in Die Benny Goodman Story (1956)
    Die Benny Goodman Story
    6.7
    • Alice Hammond
    • 1956
  • Tales of Hans Anderson
    6.9
    TV Series
    • 1955
  • Charlton Heston, Donna Reed, and Fred MacMurray in Am fernen Horizont (1955)
    Am fernen Horizont
    6.1
    • Sacajawea
    • 1955

Soundtrack

  • Tom Bosley and Tracy Nelson in Fatales Geständnis (1987)
    Ein gesegnetes Team
    6.9
    TV Series
    • performer: "Buffalo Gal (Won't You Come Out Tonight) (uncredited)
    • 1990
  • Donna Reed and Hurd Hatfield in Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray (1945)
    Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray
    7.5
    • Soundtrack ("Good-Bye, Little Yellow Bird", uncredited)
    • 1945
  • Mickey Rooney in ...und das Leben geht weiter (1943)
    ...und das Leben geht weiter
    7.0
    • performer: "All the World Will Be Jealous of Me" (1917), "A Dream" (1902) (uncredited)
    • 1943
  • Donna Reed, Robert Blake, and Dan Dailey in Mokey (1942)
    Mokey
    5.0
    • Soundtrack ("The Prisoner's Song (If I Had the Wings of an Angel)" (1924), uncredited)
    • 1942

Videos21

It's a Wonderful Life
Clip 0:37
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
Clip 0:46
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
Clip 1:07
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
Clip 0:55
It's a Wonderful Life
Trailer
Trailer 2:12
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:12
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:13
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:16
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:01
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:51
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:19
Official Trailer
Original Theatrical Trailer
Trailer 1:36
Original Theatrical Trailer

Personal details

Edit
  • Official site
    • The Donna Reed Foundation for the Performing Arts
  • Height
    • 1.61 m
  • Born
    • January 27, 1921
    • Denison, Iowa, USA
  • Died
    • January 14, 1986
    • Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA(pancreatic cancer)
  • Spouses
      Grover AsmusAugust 30, 1974 - January 14, 1986 (her death)
  • Children
      Mary Anne Owen
  • Parents
      Hazel Jane Mullenger
  • Other works
    Print ads: Chesterfield Cigarettes.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 1 Interview
    • 5 Articles
    • 5 Pictorials
    • 23 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    In the scene from Ist das Leben nicht schön? (1946) where she and James Stewart throw rocks at the old Granville house, director Frank Capra had originally planned to use a double in Donna's place to throw the rock. Miss Reed, however, was an accomplished baseball player in high school and threw very well, as evidenced by her toss in the movie.
  • Quotes
    Forty pictures I was in, and all I remember is 'What kind of bra will you be wearing today, honey?' That was always the area of big decision - from the neck to the navel.
  • Trademark
    Flip hairdo

FAQ14

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