Juliette Crosby

Juliette Crosby (September 14, 1895 – May 1, 1969) was an American actress born in Washington, D.C., whose Broadway career spanned from 1920 to 1926 and beyond. She was the daughter of Oscar Terry Crosby, an explorer, author, and politician who served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under President Woodrow Wilson, and Jeanne Maria Bouligny Crosby, a granddaughter of Charles Dominique Joseph Bouligny, a U.S. Senator from Louisiana. Both of her parents were originally from Louisiana. Crosby was educated at the Holton-Arms School and was presented as a debutante in Washington, D.C. Her older sister Miriam, also an actress, married Italian aristocrat Mario Carillo.

Before establishing herself on the stage, Crosby served as a Red Cross nurse in France during World War I, a period during which her father directed the Commission for Relief in Belgium. Her Broadway debut came in 1920 with the play Martinique, launching a career that would include a number of notable productions over the following years. She appeared in The Nest in 1922 and took on a role in The Love Child during its 1922–1923 run. Home Fires followed in 1923, and she subsequently appeared in The Show-Off, which ran from 1924 to 1925. The play Nirvana came in 1926.

That same year, Crosby originated the role of Velma Kelly in the 1926 production of Chicago, becoming the first actress to portray the character. The production ran into 1927. Later stage work included a production of Charley's Aunt in 1941, and in 1935 and 1936 she toured in a production of Dodsworth alongside Walter Huston. Her film work comprised two features, both released in 1929: Paris Bound and Charming Sinners.

In 1923, Crosby married playwright, theatre critic, and film producer Arthur Hornblow Jr. The couple had one son, John Terry Hornblow. They divorced in 1936, a month before Hornblow married actress Myrna Loy. Crosby died on May 1, 1969, in Plainville, Connecticut, at the age of 73.