Editing Irene Dunne

{{short description|American actress (1898–1990)}}
{{good article}}
{{use American English|date=May 2020}}
{{use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Irene Dunne
| honorific_suffix   = [[Order of the Holy Sepulchre|DHS]]
| image              = Studio_photograph_of_Irene_Dunne.jpg
| imagesize          = 
| caption            = Studio headshot of Dunne, {{circa|1938}}
| birth_name         = Irene Marie Dunn
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1898|12|20}}<ref name=birth1>{{cite journal |title=Irene Maria Dunn |journal=Baptism Record |at=262 |publisher=Saint Martin of Tours Church |location=[[Louisville, Kentucky]]}} (birthdate recorded as December 20, 1898; baptism recorded as six days later)</ref><ref name=birth2>{{cite journal |title=[Irene] Dunn |journal=Kentucky Birth Register |at=3086 |publisher=Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives |quote=December [20], 1898}}</ref>
| birth_place        = [[Louisville, Kentucky]], U.S.
| years active       = 1920–1987
| party              = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1990|9|4|1898|12|20}}
| awards             = [[#Awards and nominations|See list]]
| known_for          = {{hlist|[[Show Boat (1936 film)|Show Boat]]|[[Cimarron (1931 film)|Cimarron]]|[[Theodora Goes Wild]]|[[The Awful Truth]]|[[Love Affair (1939 film)|Love Affair]]|[[I Remember Mama (film)|I Remember Mama]]|[[Penny Serenade]]|[[My Favorite Wife]]}}
| occupation         = Actress
| website            = {{URL|irenedunneguild.org}}
| death_place        = [[Los Angeles|Los Angeles, California]], U.S.
| alma_mater         = {{unbulleted list| [[University of Indianapolis]]|[[Chicago Musical College]]}}
| other_names        = {{unbulleted list|The First Lady of Hollywood|Irene Dunne Griffin}}
| spouse             = {{Marriage|Francis Dennis Griffin|1927|1965|reason=died}}
| children           = 1
| title              = {{ubl| [[Dame]] [[Order of the Holy Sepulchre|of the Holy Sepulchre]]| Delegate to the [[United Nations]]|President of Santa Monica's St. John's Hospital Guild|Chairman of the Field Army [[American Cancer Society]]|Co-Chairman of the [[American Heart Association]]|Co-Chairman of the [[American Red Cross]]}}
| boards             = {{unbulleted list|[[Technicolor]]<br/> (1965)|[[California Arts Commission]] <br/> (1967–1970)}}
| module             = {{Infobox musical artist|embed=yes
|background = solo_singer
|genre = {{hlist|Popular|[[Show tune]]}}
|label   = [[Decca Records]]
|instrument = {{hlist|Vocals}}
|module ={{Listen|embed=yes
| filename    =Irene Dunne singing in Love Affair.ogg
| title       =Irene Dunne's singing voice
| description =Snippet of Dunne performing "[[Sing My Heart]]" in ''[[Love Affair (1939 film)|Love Affair]]''}}
}}
}}
'''Irene Dunne''' {{post-nominals|list=[[Dame of the Holy Sepulchre|DHS]]}} (born '''Irene Marie Dunn''';{{refn|group=Note|name=Marie|According to Dunne's baptism record, her full name is "Irene Maria Dunn,"<ref name="birth1"/><ref name="fristoe"/> however, some news reports (including an interview)<ref name="haber"/> have written "Marie" instead of "Maria."<ref name="freelance">{{cite news|page=A-14 |last1=Thomas |first1=Bob |title=Film Star Irene Dunne dies at 88 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53423199/ |work=[[San Francisco Examiner]] |date=1990-09-05 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |url-access=subscription |access-date=June 13, 2020 |archive-date=2020-09-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200916122256/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53423199/the-san-francisco-examiner/|url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="haber"/><ref>{{cite journal |title=DUNNE, Irene Marie; 88; Louisville KY>Los Angeles CA; Albuquerque J (NM); 1990-9-5; clh |journal=Obituary Daily Times Index, 1995–Current |publisher=The Obituary Daily Times|location=[[Albuquerque]]|date=1990-09-05}}</ref> Her birth record does not include her middle name,<ref name="birth2"/> and the 1900 census writes "Irene M. Dunn,"<ref>{{cite journal |quote=Dunn, Irene M. |journal=[[Twelfth Census of the United States]] |date=1900-06-13 |id=36|title=Magisterial District 7, Precincts 26, 23 Louisville city Ward 10 |publisher=National Archives and Records Administration}}</ref> whereas the 1920 census only writes "Dunn, Irene."<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Fourteenth Census of the United States: 1920 – Population |date=1920-01-07 |volume=Jefferson |issue=Indiana |page=6A |publisher=Department of Commerce Bureau of the Census |id=27|title=Madison; Ward 3}}</ref> Whichever is a spelling error is unknown.}} December 20, 1898 – September 4, 1990) was an American actress who appeared in films during [[Classical Hollywood cinema|the Golden Age of Hollywood]]. She is best known for her comedic roles, though she performed in films of other genres.

After her father died when she was 14, Dunne's family relocated from [[Kentucky]] to [[Indiana]]. She was determined to become an [[opera singer]], but when she was rejected by [[Metropolitan Opera|The Met]], she performed in musicals on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] until she was scouted by [[RKO]] and made her Hollywood film debut in the musical ''[[Leathernecking]]'' (1930). She later starred in the successful musical ''[[Show Boat (1936 film)|Show Boat]]'' (1936). 

Dunne starred in 42 movies and was nominated five times for the [[Academy Award for Best Actress]]&mdash;for her performances in the western drama ''[[Cimarron (1931 film)|Cimarron]]'' (1931), the screwball comedies ''[[Theodora Goes Wild]]'' (1936) and ''[[The Awful Truth]]'' (1937), the romance ''[[Love Affair (1939 film)|Love Affair]]'' (1939), and the drama ''[[I Remember Mama (film)|I Remember Mama]]'' (1948). Dunne is considered one of the finest actresses never to have won an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]. Some critics{{who|date=December 2024}} feel that her performances have been underappreciated and largely forgotten, often overshadowed by later remakes and better-known co-stars.

After the success of ''The Awful Truth'', she was paired with [[Cary Grant]], her co-star in that movie, two further times; in another screwball comedy, ''[[My Favorite Wife]]'' (1940), and in the melodrama ''[[Penny Serenade]]'' (1941). She has been praised by many during her career, and after her death, as one of the best comedic actresses in the [[screwball comedy|screwball]] genre. The popularity of ''Love Affair'' also led to two additional movies with her co-star of that film, [[Charles Boyer]]; those were ''[[When Tomorrow Comes (film)|When Tomorrow Comes]]'' (1939) and ''[[Together Again (film)|Together Again]]'' (1944). Her last film role was in 1952 but she starred in and hosted numerous television anthology episodes until 1962 after having done numerous radio performances from the late 1930s until the early 1950s. She was nicknamed "The First Lady of Hollywood" for her regal manner despite being proud of her Irish-American, country-girl roots.

Dunne devoted her retirement to [[philanthropy]] and was chosen by President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] as a [[delegation|delegate]] for the United States to the [[United Nations]], in which she advocated [[world peace]] and highlighted refugee-relief programs. She also used the time to be with her family—her husband, dentist Dr. Francis Griffin, and their daughter Mary Frances, whom they adopted in 1938. She received numerous awards for her philanthropy, including honorary doctorates, a [[Laetare Medal]] from the [[University of Notre Dame]], and a [[papal knighthood]]—Dame of the [[Order of the Holy Sepulchre]]. In 1985, she was awarded a [[Kennedy Center Honors|Kennedy Center Honor]] for her services to the arts.

==Early life==
Irene Marie Dunn was born on December 20, 1898,{{r|birth1|birth2}} at 507 East Gray Street in [[Louisville, Kentucky]],{{sfnp|Bochenek|2015}} to Joseph John Dunn, an Irish-American [[steamboat]] engineer and inspector for the United States government,{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=7}} and Adelaide Antoinette Dunn (née Henry), a concert pianist and music teacher of German descent from [[Newport, Kentucky]].{{sfnmp|Ward|2006|Pre-Hollywood Years|1898–1929|2loc=Early Childhood}} She was their second child and second daughter,{{sfnp|Pre-Hollywood Years|1898–1929}} and had a younger brother named Charles;<ref>{{cite news |title=Death Notices |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53477734/ |work=Los Angeles Times |date=1981-08-17 |page=18 |access-date=June 15, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175458/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53477734/obituary-for-charles-r-dunne/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Charles Robert Dunne |journal=California Death Index, 1940-1997 |publisher=[[California Department of Public Health]]}}</ref> Dunne's elder sister died soon after her birth.{{sfnp|Pre-Hollywood Years|1898–1929}} The family alternated between living in Kentucky and [[St. Louis]]{{sfnp|Pre-Hollywood Years|1898–1929}} due to her father's job offers. He died in April 1913<ref>{{cite news |title=Capt. J.J. Dunn |work=Madison Daily Herald |date=April 7, 1913}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Joseph J. Dunn is Dead|work=[[St. Louis Globe-Democrat]]|date=April 7, 1913|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53367728/joesph-j-dunn-is-dead/|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=June 13, 2020|archive-date=June 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613192744/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53367728/joesph-j-dunn-is-dead/|url-status=live}}</ref> from a kidney infection{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|page=8}} when she was fourteen.{{refn|group=Note|Joseph Dunn's death has also been reported as happening in 1909 when Dunne was eleven,{{sfnmp|Gehring|2003|1p=11|''Hats, Hunches & Happiness'' by Irene Dunne|1945}}<ref name="fristoe"/> but this was most likely at the time when Dunne was trying to conceal her real age from the Hollywood media.}} She saved all of his letters and remembered, indeed lived by, what he told her the night before he died: "Happiness is never an accident. It is the prize we get when we choose wisely from life's great stores."{{refn|group=Note|The full quote: "Happiness is never an accident. It is the prize we get when we choose wisely from life's great stores. So don't reach out wildly for this and that and the other thing. You'll end up empty-handed if you do. Make up your mind what you want. Go after it. And be prepared to pay well for it.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=To Make You Happier|magazine=[[Photoplay]]|issue=April 1944|page=107|first=Roberta |last=Ormiston}}</ref> I hope that you'll go after the rooted things: the self-respect that comes when we accept our share of responsibility. Satisfying work. Marriage. A home. A family. For these are the things that grow better with time, not less. These things are the bulwarks of happiness."{{sfnp|''Hats, Hunches & Happiness'' by Irene Dunne|1945}} Dunne only quoted the last three sentences to ''American Magazine'' in 1944.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=American Magazine|title=Lady Irene|page=117|issue=November 1944|author=Jerome Beatty}}</ref>}}{{sfnp|''Hats, Hunches & Happiness'' by Irene Dunne|1945}}

Following her father's death, Dunne's family moved to her mother's hometown of [[Madison, Indiana]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Mother of Irene Dunne was Madison Resident |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63671503/ |work=The Indianapolis Star |date=1936-12-19 |page=25}}</ref> living on W. Second St.,{{sfnp|Ward|2006}} in the same neighborhood as Dunne's grandparents.{{sfnmp|Gehring|2003|1p=11|Bochenek|2015}} Dunne's mother taught her to play the piano as a very small girl — according to Dunne, "Music was as natural as breathing in our house,"{{sfnp|''Hats, Hunches & Happiness'' by Irene Dunne|1945}} — but unfortunately for her, music lessons frequently prevented her from playing with the neighborhood kids.{{sfnp|Pre-Hollywood Years|1898–1929}} Her first school production of ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' began her interest in drama,{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|page=11}} so she took singing lessons as well, and sang in local churches and high school plays before her graduation in 1916.{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|page=13}} Wanting to become a music teacher,<ref name="teacher">{{Cite news|date=1945-06-11|title=Alma Mater to Give Irene Dunne Degree|work=The Central New Jersey Home News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/321303065|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|quote=Irene Dunne, who once wanted to teach music but who bypassed that vocation to become a starring actress in motion pictures, will be awarded an honorary degree of [[doctor of music]] by the Chicago Musical College.|access-date=August 28, 2020|archive-date=September 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175451/https://www.newspapers.com/image/321303065/|url-status=live}}</ref> she studied at the [[University of Indianapolis|Indianapolis Conservatory of Music]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne, Ziegfeld Show Star, Looks Fondly Back to Madison Home |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5127322/ |work=The Indianapolis Star |date=March 9, 1930 |page=38}}</ref>{{sfnp|Ward|2006}} earning a diploma in 1918. Later, she auditioned for the [[Chicago Musical College]] when she visited friends during a journey to [[Gary, Indiana]], and won a college scholarship, officially graduating in 1926.{{sfnmp|Pre-Hollywood Years|1898–1929|Gehring|2003|2p=14–15}} Hoping to become a [[soprano]] opera singer, she moved to New York after finishing her second year in 1920, but failed two auditions with the [[Metropolitan Opera Company]] due to her inexperience and her "slight" voice.<ref name="Bawden"/>{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|page=15}}

==Career==
=== 1920–1929: Acting beginnings, Broadway debut ===
[[File:Irene Dunne in costume for a theater show.jpg|thumb|160px|Dunne dressed as a ‘‘rabbit’’ for a Broadway show, mid-1920s]]
Dunne took more singing lessons and then dancing lessons to prepare for a possible career in musical theater.{{sfnp|Pre-Hollywood Years|1898–1929}} On a New York vacation to visit family friends, she was recommended to audition for a stage musical,{{sfnp|''Hats, Hunches & Happiness'' by Irene Dunne|1945}} eventually starring as the leading role in the popular play ''Irene'',{{sfnp|Pre-Hollywood Years|1898–1929}} which toured major cities as a roadshow throughout 1921.<ref name="fristoe"/><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Logansport Pharos-Tribune]]|date=March 18, 1922|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5173797/logansport-pharos-tribune-18-mar-1922-p5/|page=5|title=The Star of 'Irene' Coming to Luna Thursday|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=June 14, 2020|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802020058/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5173797/logansport-pharos-tribune-18-mar-1922-p5/|url-status=live}}{{Open access}}</ref> "Back in New York," Dunne reflected, "I thought that with my experience on the road and musical education it would be easy to win a role. It wasn't."{{sfnp|''Hats, Hunches & Happiness'' by Irene Dunne|1945}} Her [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] debut was December 25 the following year as Tessie in [[Zelda Sears]]'s ''[[The Clinging Vine]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=9171 |title=The Clinging Vine – Broadway Musical – Original |website=Internet Broadway Database |access-date=January 19, 2009 |archive-date=March 11, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311003219/http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=9171 |url-status=live }}</ref> She understudied [[Peggy Wood]], playing the role several times in February 1923.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Daily News 28 Feb 1923, page 20 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/430175659/ |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref> She then obtained the leading role when the original actress took a leave of absence in 1924.{{sfnp|''Hats, Hunches & Happiness'' by Irene Dunne|1945}} She replaced Leeta Corder in the lead role of Virginia Warewell in ''Ginger'' (1923) for the final few weeks on the production.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Daily News 30 Oct 1923, page 20 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/410177461/ |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle 04 Nov 1923, page Page 68 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/60015240/ |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref> She was also a replacement in ''Lollipop'' (1924) on Broadway.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle 30 Mar 1924, page Page 70 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/60017775/ |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref> Supporting roles in [[musical theater]] productions followed in the shows ''[[The City Chap (musical)|The City Chap]]'' (1925),{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=16}}<ref>{{cite web|title=The City Chap – Broadway Musical|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/the-city-chap-9932#OpeningNightCast|website=IMDb|access-date=June 30, 2020|archive-date=July 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702061806/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/the-city-chap-9932#OpeningNightCast|url-status=live}} (Dunne is credited as "Irene Dunn")</ref> ''Yours Truly'' (1927)<ref>{{cite web |title=Yours Truly – Broadway Musical – Original |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/yours-truly-10217#OpeningNightCast |website=Internet Broadway Database |access-date=June 16, 2020 |archive-date=June 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616111412/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/yours-truly-10217#OpeningNightCast |url-status=live }}</ref> and ''She's My Baby'' (1928).<ref>{{cite news |title=THE STAGE |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5173684/pittsburgh-press-15-jan-1928-p85/ |work=The Pittsburgh Press |date=January 15, 1928 |page=85}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=She's My Baby – Broadway Musical – Original |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/shes-my-baby-10546 |website=Internet Broadway Database |access-date=June 16, 2020 |archive-date=June 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616105908/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/shes-my-baby-10546 |url-status=live }}</ref> Her first top-billing, leading role ''Luckee Girl'' (1928)<ref>{{cite web |title=Luckee Girl – Broadway Musical – Original |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/luckee-girl-10715 |website=[[Internet Broadway Database]] |access-date=June 16, 2020 |archive-date=August 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801233651/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/luckee-girl-10715 |url-status=live }}</ref> was not as successful as her previous projects.{{sfnp|Pre-Hollywood Years|1898–1929}} She would later call her career beginnings "not great furor."{{sfnp|''Hats, Hunches & Happiness'' by Irene Dunne|1945}} At this time, Dunne added the extra "e" to her surname,{{refn|group=Note|Dunne later told the audience of a film retrospective that she initially considered the [[stage name]] "Irene Barkley", after an uncle.<ref>{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne Retrospective |work=Los Angeles Herald-Examiner |date=1975-03-24}}</ref>}}<ref name="freelance"/> which had ironically been misspelled as "Dunne" at times throughout her life until this point;<ref>{{cite news |last1=Webb |first1=Anah |title=Bedford Girl |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/580989316/?terms=irene%2Bdunne |work=The Bedford Daily |date=1918-12-04 |page=1 |quote=Musical numbers on the program will be given by the following Indiana girls: Miss Wynota Cleaveland of [[Crawfordsville, Indiana|Crawfordsville]], Miss Anah Webb of [[Bedford, Indiana|Bedford]], Miss Irene Dunne of [[Madison, Indiana|Madison]], Miss Lillian Prass of [[Lafayette, Indiana|Lafayette]]... |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=July 24, 2020 |archive-date=July 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724180158/https://www.newspapers.com/image/580989316/?terms=irene%2Bdunne |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Chateau-Thierry Stage and Hoosier Girls Feature Dinner. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5127306/the-indianapolis-star-8-dec-1918-p33/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |work=The Indianapolis Star |date=1918-12-08 |page=33 |quote=The following Hoosier girls took part: Miss Irene Dunne, Madison, represented France... |access-date=July 24, 2020 |archive-date=July 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724180219/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5127306/the-indianapolis-star-8-dec-1918-p33/ |url-status=live }}{{Open access}}</ref> until her death, "Dunne" would then occasionally be misspelled as "Dunn".<ref name="benefit"/><ref>{{cite news|title='Together Again' With Irene Dunn [sic] Next 'Lux' Drama|newspaper=Harrisburg Telegraph |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3211428/harrisburg_telegraph/|agency=Harrisburg Telegraph|date=December 7, 1946|page=19|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=September 12, 2015|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304074023/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3211428/harrisburg_telegraph/|url-status=live}}{{Open access}}</ref> Starring as Magnolia Hawks in a road company adaptation of ''[[Show Boat]]'' was the result of a chance meeting with its director [[Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.]]{{refn|group=Note|Ziegfeld's father founded Chicago Musical College.{{sfnp|McDonough|1985}}}} in an elevator the day she returned from her [[honeymoon]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Screen Stars Relate Their Favorite Anecdotes: Road to Fame Begins in Elevator For Irene Dunne |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63671621/ |work=The Indianapolis Star |date=1944-09-10 |page=21}}</ref> when he mistook her for his next potential client, eventually sending his secretary to chase after her.{{sfnp|''Hats, Hunches & Happiness'' by Irene Dunne|1945}}{{refn|group=Note|Magnolia Hawks had been a dream role for Dunne and she had bought the sheet music of the musical to practice,{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=23}} so this story was jokingly disputed by ''American Magazine'' with the comment: "Neither you not I nor [her husband] would ever suspect that she deliberately went to Florenz Ziegfeld [Jr] and suggested that she'd like to play Magnolia in the road company."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Beatty |first1=Jerome |title=Lady Irene |work=American Magazine |issue=November 1944 |date=1944 |page=118}}</ref>}} A talent scout for [[RKO Pictures]] attended a performance,{{sfnp|Pre-Hollywood Years|1898–1929}} and Dunne signed the studio's contract, appearing in her first movie, ''[[Leathernecking]]'' (1930),<ref name=leathernecking>{{cite web |title= Leathernecking |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/10217-LEATHERNECKING |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 1, 2020 |archive-date= June 24, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200624235627/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/10217-LEATHERNECKING |url-status= live }}</ref> an adaptation of the musical ''[[Present Arms (musical)|Present Arms]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Present Arms. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5173608/shamokin-news-dispatch-penn-17-may-19/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |work=Shamokin News-Dispatch |date=May 17, 1930 |page=5 |access-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175455/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5173608/shamokin-news-dispatch-penn-17-may/ |url-status=live }}{{Open access}}</ref> Already in her 30s when she made her first film, she would be in competition with younger actresses for roles, and found it advantageous to evade questions that would reveal her age, so publicists encouraged the belief that she was born in 1901 or 1904;<ref name="freelance"/><ref>{{cite news |author1=Charles Champlin |title=Critic at Large: Irene Dunne: Always a Lady of the House |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-12-05-ca-832-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=1985-12-05 |quote=Depending on which film source you read, Irene Dunne will be 81, 84 or 87 on Dec. 20. The official birth year is 1904, which makes her almost 81 and which she says sternly is correct, although in all events, "We do not think about Dec. 20. It is a day I choose to disregard." |access-date=June 1, 2020 |archive-date=August 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801230605/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-12-05-ca-832-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> the former is the date engraved on her tombstone.<ref name="malta"/>{{sfnp|Pre-Hollywood Years|1898–1929}}

{{multiple image
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 | image1 = Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer.jpg
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 | footer = Dunne starred in three films each with [[Charles Boyer]] and [[Cary Grant]]. These pairings were popular with audiences and critics alike.
}}

=== 1930–1949: Hollywood leading lady ===
The "Hollywood musical" era had fizzled out, so Dunne moved to dramatic roles during [[Pre-Code Hollywood|the Pre-Code era]], leading a successful campaign for the role of Sabra in ''[[Cimarron (1931 film)|Cimarron]]'' (1931) with her soon-to-be co-star [[Richard Dix]],{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=27}} earning her first [[Best Actress in a Leading Role|Best Actress]] nomination.<ref>{{cite web |title= Cimarron |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/899-CIMARRON |quote= It was nominated for Best Direction, Best Actor (Richard Dix), Best Actress (Irene Dunne) and Best Cinematography. |access-date= May 30, 2020 |archive-date= June 23, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200623151020/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/899-CIMARRON |url-status= live }}</ref> A ''[[Photoplay]]'' review declared, "[This movie] starts Irene Dunne off as one of our greatest screen artists."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=[''Cimarron'' review] |magazine=Photoplay |date=April 1931}}</ref> Other dramas included ''[[Back Street (1932 film)|Back Street]]'' (1932)<ref>{{cite web |title= Back Street |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/7328-BACK-STREET |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 1, 2020 |archive-date= June 25, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200625111907/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/7328-BACK-STREET |url-status= live }}</ref> and ''[[No Other Woman (1933 film)|No Other Woman]]'' (1933);<ref>{{cite web|url-status=live| archive-date=2020-06-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625112117/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/4911-NO-OTHER-WOMAN |title= No Other Woman |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/4911-NO-OTHER-WOMAN}}</ref> for ''[[Magnificent Obsession (1935 film)|Magnificent Obsession]]'' (1935),<ref name=magnificent>{{cite web |title=AFI{{!}}Catalog - Magnificent Obsession |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/7230-MAGNIFICENT-OBSESSION |website=American Film Institute |access-date=June 1, 2020 |archive-date=June 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625025525/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/7230-MAGNIFICENT-OBSESSION |url-status=live }}</ref> she reportedly studied [[Braille]] and focused on her posture with blind consultant Ruby Fruth.<ref>{{cite news |title=Actress Prepares to Portray Blind Role |work=Times |date=November 1935}}</ref> This was after she and Dix reunited for ''[[Stingaree (1934 film)|Stingaree]]'' (1934),<ref name="stingaree">{{cite web |title= Stingaree |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/7890-STINGAREE |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 16, 2020 |archive-date= June 16, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200616155210/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/7890-STINGAREE |url-status= live }}</ref> where overall consensus from critics was that Dunne had usurped Dix's star power.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Thornton Delehanty |title=Irene Dunne and Richard Dix in 'Stingaree' |work=[[New York Post]] |date=1934-05-18 |quote=[''Stingaree''] is a preposterous tale, with Mr. Dix doing his best to prevent it from being even faintly credible. |page=13}}</ref>{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=42}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Stars of "Cimarron" Now in "Stingaree" |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/237677415/ |work=[[The Greenwood Commonwealth]] |date=1934-07-14 |quote=The role [of Stingaree] gives [Richard] Dix an opportunity to return to the adventurous, twinkly-eyed roles he enacted in the early days of his success. Miss Dunne, opposite, has her first opportunity to exploit thoroughly her beautiful voice. |access-date=August 22, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175456/https://www.newspapers.com/image/237677415/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Under a new contract with [[Warner Bros.]],<ref name="SA">{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne Signed by Warners |work=New York Herald Tribune |date=August 21, 1934 |quote=''Sweet Adeline'' was announced as Irene Dunne's first starring vehicle under her new Warner Bros. contract.}}</ref> the remake of ''[[Sweet Adeline (1934 film)|Sweet Adeline]]'' (1934)<ref name="SA"/><ref name="Adeline">{{cite web |title= Sweet Adeline |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/5593-SWEET-ADELINE |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 16, 2020 |archive-date= June 16, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200616181522/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/5593-SWEET-ADELINE |url-status= live }}</ref> and ''[[Roberta (1935 film)|Roberta]]'' (1935)<ref>{{cite web|title=Roberta|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/6281-ROBERTA|website=American Film Institute|access-date=May 30, 2020|archive-date=June 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200624220503/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/6281-ROBERTA|url-status=live}}</ref> were Dunne's first two musicals since ''Leathernecking''. ''Roberta'' also starred dancing partners [[Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers]], and Dunne sang four songs including "[[Smoke Gets in Your Eyes]]".{{refn|group="Note"|Credited as "(When Your Heart's on Fire) Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", according to the movie's official song sheet.{{sfnp|Schultz|1991|p=187}}}} In 1936, she starred as Magnolia Hawks in ''[[Show Boat (1936 film)|Show Boat]]'' (1936), directed by [[James Whale]].<ref name=show1936>{{cite web |title= Show Boat |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/1033-SHOW-BOAT |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 1, 2020 |archive-date= June 24, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200624084356/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/1033-SHOW-BOAT |url-status= live }}</ref> Dunne had concerns about Whale's directing decisions,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Curtis |first1=James |title=James Whale: A New World of Gods and Monsters |date=1998 |publisher=Faber and Faber |location=Boston |pages=269–270 |quote=[Irene Dunne said:] James Whale wasn't the right director. He was more interested in atmosphere and lighting and he knew so little about [riverboat] life.}}</ref> but she later admitted that her favorite scene to film was "[[Make Believe (Jerome Kern song)|Make Believe]]" with [[Allan Jones (actor)|Allan Jones]] because the [[Blocking (stage)|blocking]] reminded her of ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]''.<ref name="Livingstone">{{cite news |last1=Livingstone |first1=Beulah |title=The Story of Irene Dunne |work=[[Table Talk (magazine)|Table Talk]] |date=1936-09-21 |page=14}}</ref> It was during this year that Dunne's Warner Bros. contract had expired and she had decided to become a [[freelance]] actor,<ref name="freelance"/> with the power to choose studios and directors.<ref name="LA"/> She was apprehensive about attempting her first comedy role as the title character in ''[[Theodora Goes Wild]]'' (1936),<ref name=theodora>{{cite web |title= Theodora Goes Wild |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/6666-THEODORA-GOES-WILD |website= American Film Institute |access-date= May 30, 2020 |archive-date= June 25, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200625113224/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/6666-THEODORA-GOES-WILD |url-status= live }}</ref> but discovered that she enjoyed the production process,{{sfnp|James Harvey|1978}} and received her second [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]] Oscar nomination for the performance.<ref name="theodora"/>
[[File:Gaylord and Magnolia's first meeting in Show Boat (1936).jpg|thumb|Magnolia singing "Make Believe" with Allan Jones made Dunne fantasize she was in ''Romeo and Juliet''. She later said, "Allan and I put our hearts (and lungs) into it [as] if we had really been doing a Shakespearean play."<ref name="Livingstone"/>]]
Dunne followed ''Theodora Goes Wild'' with other romantic and comedic roles. ''[[The Awful Truth]]'' (1937)<ref>{{cite web |title= The Awful Truth |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/3991-THE-AWFUL-TRUTH |website= American Film Institute |access-date= May 30, 2020 |archive-date= June 24, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200624232314/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/3991-THE-AWFUL-TRUTH |url-status= live }}</ref> was the first of three films also starring [[Cary Grant]] and was later voted the [[AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Laughs|68th best comedy in American cinema history]] by the [[American Film Institute]].<ref>{{cite web|title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs|url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-laughs/|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528050235/https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-laughs/|archive-date=May 28, 2020|website=American Film Institute|access-date=May 30, 2020}}</ref> Their screwball comedy ''[[My Favorite Wife]]'' (1940)<ref>{{cite web |title= My Favorite Wife |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/5046-MY-FAVORITE-WIFE |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 1, 2020 |archive-date= June 25, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200625113913/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/5046-MY-FAVORITE-WIFE |url-status= live }}</ref> was praised as an excellent [[spiritual successor]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Creelman |first1=Eileen |title=A Bright Farce, 'My Favorite Wife' |work=New York Sun |date=May 31, 1940 |page=22 |quote=[The plot of ''My Favorite Wife''] has anything to do with its very obvious resemblance to another [Leo] McCarey comedy, ''The Awful Truth''.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Wilson |editor1-first=Robert |title=The Film Criticism of Otis Ferguson |date=1971 |page=302 |publisher=Philadelphia Temple University Press |quote=[''My Favorite Wife'' is a] no-nonsense-sequel to ''The Awful Truth''.}}</ref> whereas ''[[Penny Serenade]]'' (1941)<ref>{{cite web |title= Penny Serenade |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/27033-PENNY-SERENADE |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 1, 2020 |archive-date= June 25, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200625114033/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/27033-PENNY-SERENADE |url-status= live }}</ref> was a "romantic comedy that frequently embraced [[melodrama]]."{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=123}} Dunne also starred in three films with [[Charles Boyer]]: ''[[Love Affair (1939 film)|Love Affair]]'' (1939),<ref name=loveaf>{{cite web |title= Love Affair |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/6015-LOVE-AFFAIR |website= American Film Institute |access-date= May 30, 2020 |archive-date= June 23, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200623151025/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/6015-LOVE-AFFAIR |url-status= live }}</ref> ''[[When Tomorrow Comes (film)|When Tomorrow Comes]]'' (1939),<ref name=tomorrow>{{cite web |title= When Tomorrow Comes |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/8150-WHEN-TOMORROW-COMES |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 1, 2020 |archive-date= June 24, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200624232241/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/8150-WHEN-TOMORROW-COMES |url-status= live }}</ref> and ''[[Together Again (film)|Together Again]]'' (1944).<ref name=together>{{cite web |title=Together Again |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/24216-TOGETHER-AGAIN |website=American Film Institute |access-date=June 1, 2020 |archive-date=June 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200624001104/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/24216-TOGETHER-AGAIN |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Love Affair'' was such an unexpected critical and financial success that the rest of Dunne and Boyer's films were judged against it;<ref>{{cite news |title=What's What in the Movies: A Big Week As Women Fans Promised in Coming Movies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/71035485/ |work=[[The Kansas City Times]] |date=1939-09-28 |page=6 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |quote=[''When Tomorrow Comes''] does not have as much comedy in it as when Miss Dunne and Mr. Boyer presented last season when they co-starred in ''Love Affair''. }}</ref><ref name="missing">{{cite news |title=Fantasies Omitted |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/71036810/ |work=[[The Brooklyn Daily Eagle]] |date=1939-09-21 |quote=There is something missing in ''When Tomorrow Comes'' [...] Indeed, [director [[John M. Stahl]]] has woven together the elements for a romance that is as near to actuality and as far from affection as that of the ''Love Affair'' starring effort [...] There isn't the sparkling wit of ''Love Affair''... }}</ref> ''When Tomorrow Comes'' was considered the most disappointing of the "trilogy,"{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=109}}<ref name="missing"/> and the advertising for ''Together Again'' promoted the actors' reunion more than the movie.<ref>{{cite news |title=Knickerbocker Star Jeanne Crain; Loew's Brings Dunne, Boyer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/148106495/ |work=[[The Tennessean]] |date=1944-11-19 |url-access=subscription |page=16–B |quote=Billed as an exciting and hilarious love affair, [''Together Again''] bought forth from the publicity department with this paragraph: 'Their eyes meet again! Their lips meet again! Their hearts meet again in this year's most glorious...enchanting...daring romantic comedy. What love! What laughter!' |access-date=August 22, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175450/https://www.newspapers.com/image/148106495/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Dunne and Grant were praised as one of the best romantic comedy couples,<ref>{{Cite news|date=June 21, 1940|title='Favorite Wife' at Memoria|work=[[Boston Post]]|quote=Miss Dunne and Mr. Grant make the perfect team for romantic comedy [and] they are both charming people.}}</ref> while the Dunne and Boyer pairing was praised as the most romantic in Hollywood.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Parsons|first=Louella O.|date=August 11, 1939|title=Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer Engaging in Romantic Film, "When Tomorrow Comes"|work=[[Los Angeles Examiner]]|quote=I don't know any more romantic pair on the screen than Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer.}}</ref>

[[File:Irene Dunne, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in Roberta.jpg|thumb|left|Irene Dunne, [[Fred Astaire]] and [[Ginger Rogers]] in the film, [[Roberta (1935 film)|Roberta]], 1935]]
On her own, Dunne showed versatility through many film genres. Critics praised her comedic skills in ''[[Unfinished Business (1941 film)|Unfinished Business]]'' (1941)<ref>{{cite web|url-status=live| archive-date=2020-06-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625114053/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/27074-UNFINISHED-BUSINESS |title= Unfinished Business |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/27074-UNFINISHED-BUSINESS |website=American Film Institute}}</ref> and ''[[Lady in a Jam]]'' (1942),<ref>{{cite web |title= Lady in a Jam |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/27303-LADY-IN-A-JAM?cxt=filmography |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 22, 2020 |archive-date= August 1, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200801210515/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/27303-LADY-IN-A-JAM?cxt=filmography |url-status= live }}</ref> despite both movies' negative reception.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=[''Lady In a Jam'' review] |magazine=The New Yorker |date=1942-07-22 |quote=On the whole, [''Lady In a Jam''] shouldn't happen to Irene Dunne.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Crowther |first1=Bosley |title=[''Unfinished Business'' review] |work=The New York Times |date=1941-09-02 |page=20 |quote=Under the circumstances, the actors do exceedingly well. Miss Dunne, even though she must combine the naivete of ''Cinderella'' with the devastating wit of a [[Dorothy Parker]], is charming.}}</ref> When the United States entered the [[Second World War]], Dunne participated in celebrity [[war bond]] tours around the country,{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=135}} announcing at a rally in 1942, "This is no time for comedy. I'm now a saleswoman, I sell [[Series E bond|bonds]]."<ref>{{cite news |title=Film Star Irene Dunne Exceeds Million Mark in Sale of War Bonds |work=Wilkes-Barre Record |date=1942-09-11 |page=1 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5140509/wilkes-barre-record-penn-11-sept-1942/ |access-date=August 23, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175504/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5140509/wilkes-barre-record-penn-11-sept-1942/ |url-status=live }}</ref> She followed the tour with her only two [[war film]]s: ''[[A Guy Named Joe]]'' (1943){{refn|group=Note|name=Joe| ''A Guy Named Joe'' was released in December 1943,{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=194}} but the AFI Catalog website writes that it was released in March 1944.<ref>{{cite web |title= A Guy Named Joe |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/464-A-GUY-NAMED-JOE |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 17, 2020 |archive-date= June 17, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200617182744/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/464-A-GUY-NAMED-JOE |url-status= live }}</ref>}} and ''[[The White Cliffs of Dover (film)|The White Cliffs of Dover]]'' (1944).<ref>{{cite web |title= The White Cliffs of Dover |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/760-THE-WHITE-CLIFFS-OF-DOVER |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 17, 2020 |archive-date= June 17, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200617175303/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/760-THE-WHITE-CLIFFS-OF-DOVER |url-status= live }}</ref> Despite ''A Guy Named Joe''{{'}}s troubled production and mixed reviews, it was one of the most successful films of the year.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Steinberg |first1=Cobbett |title=Reel Facts: The Movie Book of Records |date=1978 |publisher=Vintage Books |isbn=978-0394724164 |page=342}}</ref> ''[[Over 21]]'' (1945)<ref>{{cite web |title= Over 21 |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/24523-OVER-21 |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 22, 2020 |archive-date= June 23, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200623153949/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/24523-OVER-21 |url-status= live }}</ref> was Dunne's return to comedy but the themes of war (such as her character's husband enlisting in the army) immediately dated the story,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Winsten |first1=Archer |title=''Over 21'' Comes Late to Radio City Music Hall |work=The New York Post |date=1645-08-17 |page=12 |quote=[''Over 21''] must now get along as a film at the [[Radio City Music Hall|Music Hall]] without [the] benefit of timeliness.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Cameron |first1=Kate |title=Gaiety Is Keynote of Music Hall Film |work=[[New York Daily News]] |date=1945-08-17 |page=34 |quote=With people everywhere thinking, planning, talking and breathing peace, [it] is a bit startling to [suddenly transport] back to the early days of the war. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/443889088/ |url-access=subscription |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=August 28, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175529/https://www.newspapers.com/image/443889088/ |url-status=live }}</ref> which may have contributed to its lack of success.{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=146}} Strong but ladylike motherly roles in the vein of ''Cimarron''{{'}}s Sabra would follow throughout her next films,{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=33}} such as [[Anna Leonowens]] in the fictionalized [[biopic]] ''[[Anna and the King of Siam (film)|Anna and the King of Siam]]'' (1946),<ref>{{cite web |title= Anna and the King of Siam |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/24679-ANNA-AND-THE-KING-OF-SIAM |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 1, 2020 |archive-date= June 24, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200624001106/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/24679-ANNA-AND-THE-KING-OF-SIAM |url-status= live }}</ref> and mothers Vinnie Day in ''[[Life with Father (film)|Life with Father]]'' (1947),<ref>{{cite web |title= Life with Father |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25245-LIFE-WITH-FATHER |website= American Film Institute |access-date= June 1, 2020 |archive-date= June 24, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200624232553/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25245-LIFE-WITH-FATHER |url-status= live }}</ref> and Marta Hanson in ''[[I Remember Mama (film)|I Remember Mama]]'' (1948).<ref>{{cite web |title= I Remember Mama |url= https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25582-I-REMEMBER-MAMA |website= American Film Institute |access-date= May 30, 2020 |archive-date= June 25, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200625081724/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/25582-I-REMEMBER-MAMA |url-status= live }}</ref> Dunne openly disliked Vinnie's [[ditziness]] and had rejected ''Life with Father'' numerous times,{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=156}} eventually taking the role because "it seemed to be rewarding enough to be in a good picture that everyone will see."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Scheuer |first1=Philip K. |title=Personality First, Irene Dunne Says |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=1947-08-31}}</ref> For ''I Remember Mama'', Dunne worked on her Norwegian accent with dialect coach Judith Sater,<ref>{{cite news |title=Exits and Entrances |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63714393/ |work=Oakland Tribune |date=24 June 1947 |page=11}}</ref> and wore body padding to appear heavier;<ref name="Bawden"/>{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=159}} Marta Hanson was her fifth and final Best Actress nomination.

=== 1950–1962: Declining movie-star power ===
Dunne's last three films were box-office failures.{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=171}} The comedy ''[[Never a Dull Moment (1950 film)|Never a Dull Moment]]'' (1950) was accused of trying too hard.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cameron |work=Daily News |first1=Kate |title=''Never a Dull Moment'' – A Zany Comedy |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/450598421/ |date=1950-11-22 |quote=There are some engagingly-homely touches in the comedy, but for the most part, it is given over to slapstick antics and strains too hard for its comic effects. |access-date=August 23, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175529/https://www.newspapers.com/image/450598421/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The Screen in Review; 'Never a Dull Moment,' New Film at the Rivoli, Stars Irene Danne, Fred MacMarray |newspaper=The New York Times |author=Bosley Crowther |date=November 22, 1950 |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D0CEFDB113BE23ABC4A51DFB767838B649EDE |quote=...its sole achievement as entertainment is the presentation of Irene Dunne in a series of rustic encounters that are about as funny as stepping on a nail. |access-date=August 23, 2020 |archive-date=October 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014035434/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D0CEFDB113BE23ABC4A51DFB767838B649EDE |url-status=live }}</ref> Dunne was excited to portray [[Queen Victoria]] in ''[[The Mudlark]]'' (1950)<ref name=mudlark>{{cite web |title=AFI{{!}}Catalog – The Mudlark |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/27714-THE-MUDLARK |website=American Film Institute |access-date=June 1, 2020 |archive-date=June 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625213143/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/27714-THE-MUDLARK |url-status=live }}</ref> for a chance to "hide" behind a role with heavy makeup and latex prosthetics.<ref name="Bawden"/>{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=170}} It was a success in the UK, despite initial critical concern over the only foreigner in a British film starring as a well-known British monarch,<ref>{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne as British Queen 'Insult' |work=[[Los Angeles Examiner]] |date=1958-03-30}}</ref> but her American fans disapproved of the prosthetic decisions.<ref name="Bawden">{{cite news |last1=Bawden |first1=James |title=A Visit with Irene Dunne |work=American Classic Screen |date=1977-09-10 |page=9}}</ref> The comedy ''[[It Grows on Trees]]'' (1952) became Dunne's last movie performance,<ref name=trees>{{cite web |title=AFI{{!}}Catalog – It Grows on Trees |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50523-IT-GROWS-ON-TREES |website=American Film Institute |access-date=June 1, 2020 |archive-date=June 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625064856/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/50523-IT-GROWS-ON-TREES |url-status=live }}</ref> although she remained on the lookout for suitable film scripts for years afterwards.{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=172}} She filmed a [[television pilot]] based on ''[[Cheaper by the Dozen (1950 film)|Cheaper by the Dozen]]'' that was not picked up.<ref name="Bawden"/> On the radio, she and [[Fred MacMurray]] respectively played a feuding [[Editor-in-chief|editor]] and reporter of a struggling newspaper in the 52-episode comedy-drama ''[[Bright Star (radio)|Bright Star]]'', which aired [[broadcast syndication|in syndication]] between 1952 and 1953 by the Ziv Company.<ref name="dunningota">{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Fi5wPDBiGfMC&dq=%22Bright+Star,+comedy%22&pg=PA119 |last=Dunning |first=John |author-link=John Dunning (detective fiction author) |title=On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-19-507678-3 |pages=119–120 |edition=Revised |access-date=2019-08-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=2 Big Hollywood Actors in Great New Comedy Roles |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/13405505/?terms=bright%2Bstar%2Bfred%2Bmacmurray%2Birene%2Bdunne |work=The Indiana Gazette |date=1952-01-05 |page=14 |access-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614180113/https://www.newspapers.com/image/13405505/?terms=bright%2Bstar%2Bfred%2Bmacmurray%2Birene%2Bdunne |url-status=live }}</ref> She also starred in and hosted episodes of [[Anthology series|television anthologies]], such as ''[[Ford Theatre]]'', ''[[General Electric Theater]]'', and the ''[[Schlitz Playhouse of Stars]]''. [[Faye Emerson]] wrote in 1954, "I hope we see much more of Miss Dunne on TV,"<ref>{{cite news |last1=Emerson |first1=Faye |title=Faye Emerson Writes on Radio and TV |work=[[Albuquerque Tribune]] |date=1954-04-21}}</ref> and Nick Adams called Dunne's performance in ''[[Saints and Sinners (1962 TV series)|Saints and Sinners]]'' worthy of an [[Emmy]] nomination.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Parsons |first1=Louella |title=Hollywood |work=[[Anderson Daily Bulletin]] |date=1962-10-12 |quote=What makes me feel so bad is that Miss Dunne is so wonderful as the movie actress with an incurable disease she is sure to be in the running for an Emmy award.|author-link=Louella Parsons}}</ref> Dunne's last acting credit was in 1962, but she was once rumored to star in unmaterialized movies named ''Heaven Train''<ref>{{cite news |author1=Hedda Hopper |author-link1=Hedda Hopper |title=Irene Can't Wait for 'Heaven Train' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/382417209/?terms=irene%2Bdunne |work=Los Angeles Times |date=1965-09-20 |page=21 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |url-access=subscription |access-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-date=August 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801234631/https://www.newspapers.com/image/382417209/?terms=irene%2Bdunne |url-status=live }}</ref> and ''The Wisdom of the Serpent'',<ref>{{cite news |last1=Parsons |first1=Louella |title=Inside Hollywood |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/559577117/ |work=The Hanford Sentinel |date=1952-10-18 |page=2}}</ref> and rejected an offer to cameo in ''[[Airport '77]]''.<ref name="Frye">{{harvp|Frye|2004}}</ref> In 1954, [[Hedda Hopper]] reported a rumor that Dunne would star alongside [[Robert Mitchum]] in [[Charles Laughton]]'s stage adaptation of ''[[The Web and the Rock]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hopper |first1=Hedda |title=Chandler, Baxter 'Spoilers' Co-Stars |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63591772/ |work=Los Angeles Times |date=9 December 1954}}</ref> "I never formally retired," Dunne later explained, "but an awful lot of the girls my age soldiered on in bad vehicles. [I] couldn't run around with an ax in my hand like [[Bette Davis|Bette [Davis]]] and [[Joan Crawford|Joan [Crawford]]] did to keep things going."<ref name="Bawden"/>

==Hollywood retirement==
[[File:Christening of the Liberty Ship S. S. Carole Lombard 1944.jpg|thumb|Dunne christens SS ''Carole Lombard'' next to [[Louis B. Mayer]]. Standing behind her is [[Clark Gable]], [[Carole Lombard]]'s widower, and Lombard's secretary Madalynne Field.|253x253px]]
Dunne was a presenter at the [[3rd British Academy Film Awards|1950 BAFTAs]] when she was in London filming ''The Mudlark'',<ref>{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne to present "Oscars" to Britons |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63823325/irene-dunne-presents-at-baftas/ |work=Los Angeles Times |date=May 31, 1950 |page=18}}</ref> and then represented Hollywood for the [[12th Venice International Film Festival]] in 1951.<ref>{{cite news |title=[Clipped From Detroit Free Press] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63812117/detroit-free-press/ |work=[[Detroit Free Press]] |date=September 2, 1951 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222124514/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63812117/detroit-free-press/ |archive-date=2020-12-22 |url-status=live |page=39}}</ref> She later appeared at 1953's [[March of Dimes]] showcase in New York City to introduce two little girls nicknamed the Poster Children, who performed a dramatization about [[Polio eradication|polio research]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Stars Shine in Gala Fashion Revue for March of the Dimes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/654843473/?terms=irene%2Bdunne%2Bmarch%2Bof%2Bdimes |work=The News and Observer |date=1953-02-02 |page=8 |quote=Basil O'Connor, president of the Foundatioin, opened the show. Irene Dunne introduced the 1953 March of Dimes Poster Children... |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=June 15, 2020 |archive-date=June 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615095453/https://www.newspapers.com/image/654843473/?terms=irene%2Bdunne%2Bmarch%2Bof%2Bdimes |url-status=live }}</ref>

She accepted [[Walt Disney]]'s offer to present at [[Disneyland]]'s "Dedication Day" in 1955, and christened the [[Mark Twain Riverboat]] with a bottle containing water from several major rivers across the United States.{{sfnp|Bochenek|2015}}<ref>{{cite news |last1=Humphrey |first1=Hal |title='Disneyland' Dedication to Draw Notables |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/296376411/ |work=Oakland Tribune |date=1955-07-11 |quote=Irene Dunne, a personal friend of [Walt] Disney, will christen the ''Mark Twain'', a 105-foot {{not a typo|sternwheeler}} which plies its way around a three-quarter mile canal in Frontierland. |access-date=June 13, 2020 |archive-date=June 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613204132/http://www.newspapers.com/image/296376411/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="derby">{{cite web |author1=Susan Pennington |author2=Chris Beachum |title=Irene Dunne movies: 12 greatest films ranked from worst to best |url=https://www.goldderby.com/feature/irene-dunne-movies-12-greatest-films-ranked-from-worst-to-best-1203242692/ |website=Gold Derby |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802011515/https://www.goldderby.com/feature/irene-dunne-movies-12-greatest-films-ranked-from-worst-to-best-1203242692/ |archive-date=August 2, 2020 |date=December 20, 2019 |url-status=bot: unknown |access-date=May 26, 2020 }}</ref> Years before, Dunne had also christened the [[List of Liberty ships (A-F)|''SS Carole Lombard'']].<ref>{{cite news |title=Launch S.S. Carole Lombard Tomorrow |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/526280190/ |work=[[The Herald-News]] |date=1944-01-14 |location=[[Passaic, New Jersey]] |page=18 |quote=Actress Irene Dunne will break the wine bottle on the S.S. Carole Lombard's steel prow... |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |url-access=subscription |access-date=June 13, 2020 |archive-date=June 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613204702/http://www.newspapers.com/image/526280190/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Liberty Ship Carole Lombard Sent Down Ways |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20842456/the-los-angeles-times/ |work=Los Angeles Times |date=1944-01-16 |quote=''Best of Luck'' – Capt. Gable, [[Louis B. Mayer]], head of M.G.M., and Irene Dunne, waving farewells as the S.S. Carole Lombard slides down ways of Calship yards. |access-date=June 13, 2020 |archive-date=August 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801221503/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20842456/the-los-angeles-times/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Dunne was the only actress to be appointed a member of the [[California Arts Commission]] between 1967 and 1970.<ref name="MLM"/><ref name="docents">{{cite news |title=Docents Do Great Job For Blind |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28461559/ |work=The San Francisco Examiner |date=January 13, 1970 |page=17}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Gov. Reagan Appoints Wife to Arts Panel |url=https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/51900/images/News-CA-PR_3.1967_08_11-0042?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=5a9f8cae43329ae9a74d8d7066b5248f&usePUB=true&_phsrc=pMC8&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&pId=507259946 |work=Press-Telegram |date=1967-08-11 |page=C-11}}</ref> The three years were spent developing a museum exhibit called "Dimension" for [[visually impaired]] visitors<ref>{{cite news |title=Art Perception through the Sense of Touch |work=San Francisco Chronicle-Examiner |date=1970-01-04 |quote=The purpose of the show was to make art more accessible to the blind and give the sighted a new perspective.}}</ref> which officially opened on January 12, 1970,<ref name="docents"/> in the [[M.H. de Young Memorial Museum]],<ref>M.H. de Young Memorial Museum., Sachko, D., California Arts Commission., & Touring Art Gallery for the Sighted and the Blind. (1969). Dimension, an exhibition of sculpture for the sighted and the blind. Exhibition: San Francisco, Jan. 12 – Feb. 22.</ref><ref name="docents"/> and toured California for eleven months.{{sfnp|Schultz|1991|p=24}} Dunne recorded a talking booklet,<ref>{{Cite AV media|title=A Guide to "Dimension: An Exhibition of Sculpture for the Sighted and Blind"|type=Spoken word (audio)|publisher=[[Capitol Records|Capitol]]|ref=SPRO-4924/4925}}</ref> explaining the history of the 30 sculptures on display and inviting guests to touch.{{sfnp|Schultz|1991|p=24}}

=== Activism ===
During the Second World War, Dunne joined the Beverly Hills United Service Organization,{{sfnp|Schultz|1991|p=180}} and co-founded the [[Clark Gable]]'s Hollywood Victory Committee.{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=135}} It organized servicemen entertainment and war-bond sales tours on behalf of willing Hollywood participants.{{refn|group=Note|A few video clips of Dunne during bond tours appeared in the movies ''[[Show Business at War]]'' (1943) and ''[[Follow the Boys (1944 film)|Follow the Boys]]'' (1944).{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=135}}}} The National War Savings Program awarded her a certificate for her work from their Treasury Department.{{sfnp|Schultz|1991|p=180}}

In her retirement, she devoted herself primarily to humanitarianism.{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|page=168-170}} Some of the organizations she worked with include the Sister Kenny Foundation,<ref>{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne Takes Lead in Charity Work |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63807981/ |work=Los Angeles Times |date=December 30, 1951 |page=59}}</ref> the [[American Cancer Society]]{{sfnp|Bochenek|2015}} (becoming Chairwoman of its Field Army in 1948),<ref>{{cite news |title=Cancer Society Names Irene Dunne to High U.S. Post |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63704226/cancer-society-names-irene-dunne-to-high/ |work=Los Angeles Evening Citizen News |date=22 April 1948 |page=15}}</ref><ref name="chairman">{{cite news |title=Laetare Winner is Irene Dunne |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/576301054/ |work=The Tablet |date=1949-05-02}}</ref> the Los Angeles Orphanage,<ref name="courier">{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne Returns in Television Drama |work=The Press Courier |date=February 10, 1959}}</ref> the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women,<ref name="MLM"/> and was Co-Chairman of the [[American Red Cross]].<ref name="chairman"/>{{sfnp|Bochenek|2015}}<ref name="Moines">{{Cite news|date=1949-03-28|title=Irene Dunne Named Top Member of Catholic Laity|page=3|work=The Des Moines Register|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57886864/the-des-moines-register/|url-status=live|access-date=August 23, 2020|archive-date=September 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175536/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57886864/the-des-moines-register/}}</ref> She was elected president of [[Santa Monica, California|Santa Monica's]] St. John's Hospital and Health Clinic<ref name="courier"/> in 1950<ref name=john>{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne Heads Guild of Hospital |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63825809/ |work=Los Angeles Times |date=December 14, 1950 |pages=78}}</ref> (she resigned in 1966 to work in the developing council){{sfnmp|Schultz|1991|1p=23|Schultz|1991|2p=184}} and became a board member of [[Technicolor]] in 1965, the first woman ever elected to the board of directors.<ref>{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne: From Boards to the Board |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53408974/the-san-francisco-examiner/ |work=[[The San Francisco Examiner]] |date=1965-02-16 |page=28 |access-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614103024/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53408974/the-san-francisco-examiner/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|page=176}} She established an [[African Americans|African American]] school for Los Angeles,<ref name="well done"/> negotiated donations to St. John's through box office results,<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Irene Dunne|title=If You Want Success...|magazine=[[Screenland]]|issue=July 1951|quote=More recently, I've worked with heart and cancer foundations, Red Cross and especially the St. John's Hospital for which our premiere of "[[The Mudlark]]" raised $137.000 for a new building wing.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=1963-02-10|title=Film Premiere to Help: St. John's Hospital Addition Advanced|page=2|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/58160947/|url-status=live|quote=The premiere [of ''[[How the West Was Won (film)|How the West Was Won]]''] is sponsored by the St. John's Hospital Foundation. [...] Irene Dunne, who became president of the St. John's Hospital Foundation in 1951, was instrumental in arranging the benefit premiere.|archive-date=September 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175539/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/58160947/the-los-angeles-times/}}</ref> and Hebrew University Rebuilding Fun's sponsors committee.<ref name="MLM"/><ref name="about"/> [[Harold Stassen]] appointed her chairwoman for the [[American Heart Association]]'s<ref>{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne Voted Notre Dame Honor |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/367365319/ |work=[[Baltimore Sun]] |date=1949-03-28 |page=11}}</ref>{{sfnp|Bochenek|2015}} women's committee on February 7, 1949,<ref name="MLM">{{cite book |last1=McAuliffe |first1=Martin L. |title=Profiles of Excellence |date=1970 |publisher=[[University of Evansville Press]] |location=[[Evansville, Indiana]] |pages=93–96 |url=https://archive.org/details/profilesofexcell0000unse/}}</ref><ref name="well done"/><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Hollywood's 10 Best Citizens |url=https://archive.org/details/modernscreen4041unse/page/n273/ |magazine=Modern Screen |volume=40 |issue=3 |date=1950 |page=73}}</ref> and she held the position until February 28.{{sfnp|Schultz|1991|p=182}} She appeared in a celebrity-rostered television special ''Benefit Show for Retarded Children'' (1955)<ref name="benefit">{{cite news |last1=Anderson |first1=Jack E. |title=TV-Radio Vie with Eats Today |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63711407/ |work=[[The Miami Herald]] |date=1955-11-24 |page=18-B |quote=At 3:30 WITV (Ch. 17) is telecasting the National Association for Retarded Children benefit show. Jack Benny is [[emcee]]ing and everybody from Irene {{sic|Dunn}} to [[Art Linkletter]] is in it.}}</ref> with [[Jack Benny]] as host.{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=175}} Dunne also donated to refurbishments in Madison, Indiana, funding the manufacture of Camp Louis Ernst Boy Scout's gate in 1939<ref>{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne Remembers Home Town Scout Camp |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63666139/ |work=The Indianapolis News|url-status=live |date=1939-06-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120204203/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63666139/irene-dunne-camp-louis-ernst-boy/ |archive-date=2020-11-20 |page=10}}</ref> and the Broadway Fountain's 1976 restoration.{{sfnp|Bochenek|2015}}<ref name="sign"/> In 1987, she founded the Irene Dunne Guild, a foundation which remains "instrumental in raising funds to support programs and services at St. John's."<ref>{{cite web |title=Saint John's Health Center Foundation |url=https://saintjohnsfoundation.org/support/ |website=Saint John's Foundation |access-date=15 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801214950/https://saintjohnsfoundation.org/support/ |archive-date=August 1, 2020 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> It was reported that the Guild had raised $20 million by the time of her death.<ref name="dies88"/>

Dunne reflected in 1951: "If I began living in Hollywood today, I would certainly do one thing that I did when I arrived, and that is to be active in charity. If one is going to take something out of a community—any community—one must put something in, too."<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Irene Dunne|title=If You Want Success...|magazine=[[Screenland]]|issue=July 1951}}</ref> She also hoped that charity would encourage submissive women to find independence: "I wish women would be more direct. [...] I was amazed when some quiet little mouse of a woman was given a job which seemed to be out of all proportion to her capabilities. Then I saw the drive with which she undertook that job and put it through to a great finish. It was both inspiring and surprising. I want women to be individuals. They should not lean on their husbands' opinions and be merely echoes of the men of the family[.]"<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wilson |first1=Bess M. |title=Irene Dunne Describes Charity as Key to Women's Services : 'More Direct Approach Advised' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/385606669 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=1951-04-20 |pages=1–2 |access-date=June 13, 2020 |archive-date=August 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809073649/http://www.newspapers.com/image/385606669/ |url-status=live }} ({{url|https://www.newspapers.com/image/385606682|other half of article}})</ref>

=== American delegate to the United Nations ===
In 1957, [[Dwight David Eisenhower|President Eisenhower]] appointed Dunne one of five alternative U.S. delegates to the United Nations in recognition of her interest in [[international relations|international affairs]] and Roman Catholic and [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] causes.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ike Appoints Irene Dunne to U.N. Post|date=August 10, 1957|work=Palm Beach Post|page=4|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53370535/|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=June 13, 2020|archive-date=September 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175540/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53370535/the-palm-beach-post/|url-status=live}}</ref> Dunne admired the U.N.'s dedication to creating [[world peace]],<ref>{{harvp|Bell|1958}}: 'Says Irene: "You never for a moment forget that war and peace and life itself are at stake. When I go back home after this session of the General Assembly, I'll be an enthusiastic saleslady for the U.N. as an essential force [for] world peace in this age of atoms and outer-space moons."'</ref><ref name="gentlewoman">{{cite news|date=1958-03-05|title=Irene Dunne: Gentlewoman|work=Los Angeles Times|url=http://www.irenedunnesite.com/press/1958-irene-dunne-gentlewoman/|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430032001/http://www.irenedunnesite.com/press/1958-irene-dunne-gentlewoman/|archive-date=2016-04-30}}</ref> and was inspired by colleagues' beliefs that Hollywood influenced the world.<ref>{{harvp|Bell|1958}}: '"There are a great many thoughtful people in Hollywood," Irene says, "especially among the writers, directors, and technicians. I think they are aware of Hollywood's impact on people all over the world, but even they have no idea of how tremendous that impact is. I know now—from talking with the other U.N. delegates. And I'm going home and try to tell the people back there what an important contribution Hollywood can make, or how much harm it can do."'</ref> On September 12, she was sworn in with [[Herman B Wells|Herman B. Wells]], [[Walter H. Judd]], [[A. S. J. Carnahan]], [[Philip M. Klutznick]] and [[George Meany]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Meany, Many Others Take Oaths As Delegates to UN |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/617898080/ |work=The Sacramento Bee |date=1957-09-13 |page=A-8 |access-date=August 24, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175541/https://www.newspapers.com/image/617898080/ |url-status=live }}</ref> She held delegacy for two years and addressed the [[U.N. General Assembly|General Assembly]] twice.<ref>{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne |url=http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/irene-dunne/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802012242/http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/irene-dunne/ |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-date=August 2, 2020 |access-date=May 16, 2020 }}</ref> She gave her delegacy its own anthem: "[[Getting to Know You (song)|Getting to Know You]]" because "it's so simple, and yet so fundamental in international relations today."<ref name="harvp|Bell|1958">{{harvp|Bell|1958}}</ref> Dunne later described her Assembly request for $21 million to help [[Palestinian refugees]] as her "biggest thrill,"<ref>{{cite news|title=Irene Dunne Describes Work as U.N. Delegate|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=1958-02-03|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/381194252/?terms=Irene%2BDunne%2BDescribes%2BWork%2Bas%2BU.N.%2BDelegate|url-access=subscription|page=9|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=June 13, 2020|archive-date=June 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613204128/http://www.newspapers.com/image/381194252/?terms=Irene%2BDunne%2BDescribes%2BWork%2Bas%2BU.N.%2BDelegate|url-status=live}}</ref> and called her delegacy career the "highlight of my life."<ref>{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne Finds Career in U.N. "Highlight of My Life" |work=[[New York Herald Tribune]] |date=1957-10-16 |page=3}}</ref> She also concluded, "I came away greatly impressed with the work the U.N. does in its limited field—and it does have certain limits. I think we averted a serious situation in Syria, which might have been much worse without a forum to hear it... And I'm much impressed with the work the U.N. agencies do. I'm especially interested in [[UNICEF]]'s work with children[,] and the [[World Health Organization|health organization]] [.]"<ref>{{cite news |last1=Thomas |first1=Bob |title=Actress Found U.N. Exciting |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53409272/ |location=[[Hanover, Pennsylvania]] |work=The Evening Sun |date=February 27, 1958 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175554/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53409272/the-evening-sun/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Political views===
Dunne was a lifelong [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] and served as a member of the Californian delegation in 1948's Republican National Convention and campaigned for [[Thomas Dewey]] in the [[1944 United States presidential election]]<ref>{{Cite book | title=When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics| isbn=9781107650282| last1=Critchlow| first1=Donald T.| date=2013|pages=67| publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref> and [[Ronald Reagan]] in the [[1966 California gubernatorial election]].<ref>{{Cite book | title=When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics| isbn=9781107650282| last1=Critchlow| first1=Donald T.| date=2013|pages=192| publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref>{{sfnmp|Gehring|2003|1p=163|Schultz|1991|2p=182}} She accepted the U.N. delegacy offer because she viewed the U.N. as [[apolitical]].<ref name="lateran"/><ref>{{harvp|''McCall's''|1964}}: "Ever since my United Nations work, for instance, they've been saying that I've gone into politics. The United Nations is a nonpolitical body."</ref> She later explained: "I'm a [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]] Republican, not a [[Barry Goldwater|Goldwater]] one.{{refn|group=Note|Dunne supported Nixon in the [[1950 United States Senate election in California]] and Goldwater in the [[1964 United States presidential election]].<ref>{{Cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QfHXAAAAQBAJ&q=andy%20devine| title=When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics| isbn=978-1107650282| last1=Critchlow| first1=Donald T.| date=2013| publisher=Cambridge University Press| access-date=June 16, 2020| archive-date=September 14, 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175526/https://www.google.com/books/edition/When_Hollywood_Was_Right/QfHXAAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=andy+devine| url-status=live}}</ref> She also seconded [[Earl Warren]]'s vice presidential nomination in 1948.{{sfnp|Schultz|1991|p=182}}}} I don't like extremism in any case. The extreme rights do as much harm as the extreme lefts."<ref name="la1970"/> Her large input in politics created an assumption that she was a member of the "Hollywood right-wing fringe," which Dunne denied, calling herself "foolish" for being involved years before other celebrities did.<ref name="lateran"/>

==Personal life==
[[File:Jimmy stewart, loretta young and irene dunne in 1962.jpg|left|alt=Monochrome photo of two women and a man dressed in formal attire - the two women (standing right) are smiling up at the man (facing opposite), who looks slightly amused.|thumb|Dunne with [[James Stewart]] and [[Loretta Young]] at [[Samuel Goldwyn]]'s party (August 30, 1962)|214x214px]]
Dunne's father frequently told Dunne about his memories of traveling on [[bayou]]s and lazy rivers.{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=10-11}} Dunne's favorite family vacations were riverboat rides and parades, later recalling a voyage from [[St. Louis]] to [[New Orleans]],<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hoyt|first=Caroline S.|date=December 1938|title=Irene Dunne's True Life Story|page=28|work=Modern Screen}}</ref> and watching boats on the [[Ohio River]] from the hillside.<ref name="SB">{{cite news|last1=McManus|first1=John T.|date=1936-05-07|title=Magnolia of the Movies|page=3|work=The New York Times}}</ref>{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=10-11}} She admitted, "No triumph of either my stage or screen career has ever rivaled the excitement of trips down the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] on the [[riverboat]]s with my father."{{sfnp|''Hats, Hunches & Happiness'' by Irene Dunne|1945}}

Dunne was an avid golfer, playing the sport since high-school graduation;{{sfnp|Pre-Hollywood Years|1898–1929}} her husband and she often played against each other and she made a [[hole in one]] in two different games.<ref name="well done"/> They often socialized with Californian business people,<ref name="Birmingham">{{harvp|''McCall's''|1964}}</ref><ref name="Frye"/> but she was good friends with [[Loretta Young]],{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=178}} [[Jimmy Stewart]],{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=178}} [[Bob Hope]],{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=178}} [[Rosalind Russell]],{{r|shy|Birmingham}} [[Van Johnson]],<ref name="shy"/> [[Ronald Reagan]],<ref name="Frye"/> [[Carole Lombard]],{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=95}}<ref>{{Cite web|date=1944-01-12|title=Actress Friend Will Sponsor Carole Lombard Liberty Ship|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/598584491/?terms=irene%20dunne%20hollywood%20victory%20committee&match=1|website=Newspapers.com}}</ref> and [[George Stevens Jr.]],<ref name="Frye"/> and became [[godparent|godmother]] to Young's son, [[Peter Lewis (musician)|Peter]].<ref>{{cite news |author1=Louella O. Parsons |author-link1=Louella Parsons |title=Hollywood |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/524591396 |work=[[Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph]] |date=1945-09-05 |access-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614123416/http://www.newspapers.com/image/524591396/ |url-status=live }}</ref> She and [[Charles Boyer]]'s blossoming friendship in ''Love Affair'' seeped through the movie so strongly,{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=100-103}} they wrote essays about each other in the October issue of ''Photoplay''.<ref name=Boyer>{{cite interview|title=IRENE as Seen by Charles Boyer|first=Charles|last=Boyer|author-link=Charles Boyer|date=1939|page=24, 78|magazine=[[Photoplay]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite interview|title=CHARLES as Seen by Irene Dunne Boyer|first=Irene|last=Dunne|date=1939|page=25, 78|magazine=[[Photoplay]]}}</ref> Dunne also bonded with [[Leo McCarey]] over numerous similar interests, such as their Irish ancestry, music, religious backgrounds,{{refn|group=Note|McCarey was a [[Catholic guilt|guilty]] [[lapsed Catholic]],{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|page=80}} however.}} and humor.{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=80-83}} School friends nicknamed her "Dunnie"{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=11}} and she was referred to as this in Madison High School's 1916 yearbook, along with the description "divinely tall and most divinely fair."{{sfnp|Pre-Hollywood Years|1898–1929}} [[John Cromwell (director)|John Cromwell]], however, reportedly described her as "always [having] the look of a [[:wiktionary:cat that ate the canary|cat who had swallowed the canary]]."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lamparski |first1=Richard |title=Whatever Became Of...? (series 8) |date=1982 |publisher=Crown Publishers |location=New York |isbn=9780517548554 |page=94 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/whateverbecameof0000lamp/page/94/ |chapter=Irene Dunne}}</ref>

Dunne was popular with co-workers off-camera, earning a reputation as warm and approachable, and having a "poised, gracious manner"{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|page=9}} like royalty,<ref name="derby"/> which spilled into her persona in movies. On observing life behind the scenes of a typical day of filming in Hollywood, Jimmie Fidler noted, "There is something about Irene Dunne that makes every man in the room unconsciously straighten his tie."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Fidler|first1=Jimmie|date=1939-10-26|title=Touring in Filmland|work=Monrovia News-Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/606517259/}}</ref> Dunne earned the nickname "The First Lady of Hollywood"<ref name="derby"/> because "she was the first real lady Hollywood has ever seen," said [[Leo McCarey]],<ref>{{cite interview|last=McCarey|first=Leo|interviewer=Stephen Birmingham|title=Irene Dunne|work=McCalls|year=1964|page=100|author-link=Leo McCarey}}</ref> with [[Gregory La Cava]] adding, "If Irene Dunne isn't the first lady of Hollywood, then she's the last one."<ref>{{cite speech|last=La Cava|first=Gregory|author-link=Gregory La Cava|title=Untitled Irene Dunne dedication|event=Irene Dunne dedication at St. John's Hospital|date=8 May 1985|location=St. John's Hospital, [[California]]|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]}}</ref> Ironically, this title had been bestowed on her when she was a little girl when an aunt cooed "What a little lady!"{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|page=9}} When approached about the nickname in 1936, Dunne admitted it had grown tiresome but approved if it was meant as "the feminine counterpart of '[[gentleman]]'";<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Tildesley|first=Alice L.|date=1936-05-24|title=Irene Dunne Defines "A Lady"|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/19806422/|url-status=live|magazine=The Daily Mail Sunday Magazine|publisher=[[Charleston Daily Mail]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175547/https://www.newspapers.com/image/19806422/|archive-date=September 14, 2020|access-date=August 28, 2020}}</ref> a later interview she did have with the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' would ironically be titled "Irene Dunne, Gentlewoman."<ref name="gentlewoman" />

Her fashion tastes were often the talk of newspapers,<ref>{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne's Suit is Notably Smart |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63666641/irene-dunnes-suit-is-notably-smart/ |work=The Indianapolis Star |date=July 10, 1939 |page=4}}</ref><ref name="style"/> and Best Dressed lists featured her as one of the most stylish celebrities in the world.{{r|duchess|Vanity}} Dunne explained in a 1939 fashion-advice interview that her husband was partially responsible because he was equally stylish, but also chooses outfits based on personality, color scheme and the context of where the outfits will be worn.<ref name="style">{{Cite news|last=Young|first=Marian|date=1939-04-06|title="We like your style," Hollywood Says To Irene Dunne|pages=11|work=Muncie Evening Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63666005/we-like-your-style-hollywood-says-to/}}</ref> [[McCall's|''McCall's'' magazine]] later revealed Dunne chose outfits specifically designed for her by [[Mainbocher]] and [[Jean Louis]] because she did not like buying clothes in stores.<ref name="Birmingham"/>

One of Dunne's later public appearances was in April 1985, when she attended the unveiling of a bronze bust in her honor at St. John's Hospital and Health Clinic. The artwork, commissioned by the hospital from artist [[Artis Lane]], has a plaque reading "IRENE DUNNE First Lady Of Saint John's Hospital and Health Center Foundation."<ref name="Sculpture">{{cite web|title=Irene Dunne (sculpture)|url=https://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=ariall&uri=full=3100001~!341110~!0#focus|website=SIRIS|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|access-date=26 September 2017|archive-date=October 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017123640/https://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=ariall&uri=full=3100001~!341110~!0#focus|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="lifetime"/>

=== Relationships ===
Between 1919 and 1922, Dunne was close to Fritz Ernst, a businessman based in Chicago who was 20 years older than she, and a member of one of the richest families in Madison, Indiana.{{sfnmp|Gehring|2003|1p=22|Pre-Hollywood Years|1898–1929}} They frequently corresponded while Dunne was training for musical theater but when Fritz proposed, Dunne declined, due to pressure from her mother and wanting to focus on acting.{{sfnmp|Gehring|2003|1p=22|Pre-Hollywood Years|1898–1929}} They remained friends and continued writing letters until Ernst died in 1959.{{sfnmp|Pre-Hollywood Years|1898–1929|Gehring|2003|2p=22}}
[[File:Irene Dunne with her husband.jpg|thumb|Dunne with husband, Dr. Francis Griffin]]
At a New York, [[New York Biltmore Hotel|Biltmore Hotel]] supper party in 1924, Dunne met [[Northampton, Massachusetts]]-born dentist<ref>{{cite news|work=The [[Indianapolis Star]]|date=July 31, 1927|page=57|title=Figures in Recent Local Weddings|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5173753/indianapolis-star-31-july-1927-p57/|access-date=June 14, 2020|archive-date=June 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614103025/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5173753/indianapolis-star-31-july-1927-p57/|url-status=live}}</ref> Francis Griffin.{{sfnp|''Hats, Hunches & Happiness'' by Irene Dunne|1945}}<ref>{{cite journal |url-access=subscription |title=Frank Griffin |journal=Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840–1911 |date=1883 |url=https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5062/images/41262_b139303-00019?pId=3151035|location=Massachusetts, U.S |series=Births Registered in the Town of Northampton for the Year Eighteen-hundred and eighty-three |publisher=[[New England Historic Genealogical Society]]|via=[[Provo, Utah]] and [[Ancestry.com]]}} (Griffin is listed at number 88)</ref> According to Dunne, he preferred being a bachelor, yet tried everything he could to meet her.{{sfnp|''Hats, Hunches & Happiness'' by Irene Dunne|1945}} To her frustration, he did not telephone her until over a month later, but the relationship strengthened and they married in Manhattan on July 13, 1927.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Manhattan |journal=Index to Marriages |volume=8 |pages=372, 588 |publisher=[[New York City Municipal Archives]] |location=New York |via=[[Ancestry.com]] |url=https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=61406&h=7683611&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=AVe5&_phstart=successSource |url-access=subscription |access-date=June 4, 2020}} (Dunne and Griffin's marriage license code is 19627; Dunne's name is on page 372, and Griffin's name is on page 588)</ref> They had constantly argued about the state of their careers if they ever got married,{{sfnp|''Hats, Hunches & Happiness'' by Irene Dunne|1945}} with Dunne agreeing to consider theater retirement sometime in the future and Griffin agreeing to support Dunne's acting.{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=22}} Griffin later explained: "I didn't like the moral tone of show business. [...] Then Ziegfeld signed her for ''Show Boat'' and it looked like she was due for big things. Next came Hollywood and [she] was catapulted to the top. Then I didn't feel I could ask her to drop her career. [I] really didn't think marriage and the stage were compatible but we loved each other and we were both determined to make our marriage work."<ref name="griffin">{{cite news |last1=Hyams |first1=Joe |title='Be A Trailer' Irene Dunne's Husband Says |work=The [[Daily Boston Globe]] |date=April 27, 1958 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65205267/ |access-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-date=2020-12-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213163455/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65205267/the-boston-globe/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

When Dunne decided to star in ''Leathernecking'', it was meant to be her only Hollywood project, but when it was a [[box-office bomb]], she took an interest in ''Cimarron''.{{sfnp|''Hats, Hunches & Happiness'' by Irene Dunne|1945}} Soon after, she and her mother moved to Hollywood and maintained a long-distance relationship with her husband and brother in New York until they joined her in California in 1936.{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|pp=24-25, 50, 94}} A family friend described their dynamic as "like two pixies together,"<ref name="Birmingham"/> and they remained married until Griffin's death on October 14, 1965,<ref>{{cite journal |title=Francis D Griffin |journal=California Death Index, 1940-1997 |url=https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=5180&h=2875617&indiv=try&o_vc=Record:OtherRecord&rhSource=61843 |publisher=California Department of Health Services |location=Sacramento, CA, USA |url-access=subscription |via=[[Ancestry.com]] |access-date=June 4, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne's Husband Dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/618601930/?terms=irene%2Bdunne |work=The Sacramento Bee |date=1965-10-16 |quote=Dr. Francis D. Griffin, 79, husband of actress Irene Dunne, has died of a heart ailment. He died Thursday night in the couple's home after a long illness. |access-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614123540/https://www.newspapers.com/image/618601930/?terms=irene%2Bdunne |url-status=live }}</ref> living in the [[Holmby Hills]] in a "kind of French [[Chateau]]"<ref>{{cite news |last1=Orr |first1=Robin |title=Portrait of a Lady |work=[[Oakland Tribune]] |date=February 24, 1969}}</ref> they designed.<ref>{{harvp|Frye|2004}}: "When Irene and her husband, Frank Griffin, who was a dentist, arrived in Hollywood in 1930, they bought a lot in Holmby Hills for $10[,]000 and built a two-story house on it for $40[,]000."</ref>{{refn|group=Note|Considered out-of-date, the home was demolished after Dunne's death.{{sfnp|Ward|2006}}}} A hobby they both shared was [[astronomy]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Irene Dunne |url=https://archive.org/details/pictureshowannua00amal_13/page/60/ |magazine=Picture Show Annual|issue=1940 |publisher=[[Amalgamated Press]], Ltd. |date=1939 |page=60}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Biographical Information on RKO Radio Pictures Personalities |url=https://archive.org/details/biographicalinfo00unse/page/n35/ |publisher=[[RKO Pictures]] |date=1937-04-23 |format=[[periodical]]}}</ref> Griffin explained the marriage had lasted so long because: "When she had to go on location for a film I arranged my schedule so I could go with her. When I had to go out of town she arranged her schedule so she could be with me. We co-operate in everything. [...] I think a man married to a career woman in show business has to be convinced that his wife's talent is too strong to be dimmed or put out. Then, he can be just as proud of her success as she is and, inside he can take a bow himself for whatever help he's been."<ref name="griffin"/> Due to Dunne's privacy,{{refn|group=Note|Dunne's indifference about giving interviews was revealed to be the result of [[shyness]]. She did not like attending Hollywood parties and was paranoid about interviewers asking about an uncomfortably invasive topic, describing it as like living in a glass house.<ref name="shy">{{cite news |author1=Irene Dunne |title=My Favorite Publicist |work=Movieland |volume=6 |issue=3 |date=April 1948 |pages=16, 98–100}} [{{url|https://archive.org/details/movielandtvtimev06unse/page/n242|1st page}}, {{url|https://archive.org/details/movielandtvtimev06unse/page/n323/|2nd and 3rd page}}, and {{url|https://archive.org/details/movielandtvtimev06unse/page/n325/|4th page}}]</ref> "There are talented people who can talk amusingly, charmingly, blithely about themselves to friends, acquaintances and strangers on the slightest provocation [and I] find myself not only enjoying but envying them," she later explained.<ref name="shy"/> This apathy was interpreted as snobbery, at first, and is partially why her "ladylike" reputation stuck.<ref name="shy"/>}} Hollywood columnists struggled to find scandals to write about her—an eventual interview with ''Photoplay'' included the disclaimer, "I can guarantee no juicy bits of intimate gossip. Unless, perhaps she lies awake nights heartsick about the kitchen sink in her new home. She's afraid it's too near to the door. Or would you call that juicy? No? No, I thought not."<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Photoplay]] |issue=April 1936 |date=1936 |title=This Is Really Irene Dunne |first=Sara |last=Hamilton}}</ref> When the magazines alleged that Dunne and Griffin would divorce, Griffin released a statement denying any marital issues.<ref>{{cite web |title=Press |url=http://www.irenedunnesite.com/press/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128231734/http://www.irenedunnesite.com/press/ |archive-date=2011-01-28 |url-status=usurped |quote=Fed up with speculations about a pending divorce, Frank finally issued a statement [...] At last Hollywood had to accept a working, happy marriage.}}</ref>

After retiring from dentistry, Griffin became Dunne's business manager<ref name="Frye"/> and helped negotiate her first contract.{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|page=24}} The couple became interested in real estate, later investing in the Beverly Wilshire<ref name="Frye"/> and throughout [[Las Vegas]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne Hits It Rich |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63988112/irene-dunne-1-million-real-estate/ |work=Star Tribune |date=June 16, 1952 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204134511/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63988112/irene-dunne-1-million-real-estate/ |archive-date=2020-12-04 |location=[[Minneapolis]], [[Minnesota]] |page=24}}</ref> (including co-founding and chairing the board of [[Huntridge Theater|Huntridge Corporation]]),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clarke |first1=Norm |title=Vegas Confidential: 1,000 Naked Truths |date=2004 |publisher=Stephens Press |location=Las Vegas, Nev. |isbn=9781932173260 |page=220 |quote=Huntridge Theater — It was opened on October 10, 1944, by film star Irene Dunne, and, for a brief time, Loretta Young was a partner.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fRlF5CLdrcYC&dq=huntridge+irene+dunne&pg=PA220|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Mrs. Gall Writes About Las Vegas, Nev.: A Growing Town in Heart of Desert; Climate Dry and Warm |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64808825/ |work=The Lathrop Optimist |date=January 13, 1944 |pages=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author1=Robin Orr |title=Portrait Of A Lady |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64595867/ |work=Oakland Tribune |date=February 24, 1969 |page=23 |quote=Francis {{sic|W.}} Griffin, Miss Dunne inherited the board chairmanship of the Huntridge Corp., a real estate development firm, after her husband's death two years ago.}}</ref><ref name="Huntridge">{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne: Front Liner |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64594914/ |work=The San Francisco Examiner |date=24 February 1969 |page=19 |quote=She's also on the board of Technicolor, Inc., chairman of the Huntridge Corporation, a member of the Fine Arts Council of Notre Dame University.}}</ref> and partnering with Griffin's family's businesses (Griffin Equipment Company and The Griffin Wellpoint Company.)<ref name="griffin"/> Griffin sat as a board member of numerous banks,<ref name="griffin"/> but his offices were relocated from [[Century City]] to their home after his death, when Dunne took over as president.<ref name="la1970">{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne – a Famous Actress Who Didn't Look Back |url=http://www.irenedunnesite.com/press/1970-irene-dunne-a-famous-actress-who-didn-t-look-back/ |work=Los Angeles Times |date=November 29, 1970 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430043519/http://www.irenedunnesite.com/press/1970-irene-dunne-a-famous-actress-who-didn-t-look-back/ |archive-date=2016-04-30}}</ref> They had one daughter, Mary Frances (née Anna Mary Bush; 1935{{refn|group=Note|Birth originally reported as 1932.<ref name="new"/>}} – 2020),<ref>{{cite news |title=Mary Gage Obituary - Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspx?n=mary-frances-gage&pid=196548698 |access-date=2020-11-17 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=2020-07-26}}</ref> who was adopted by the couple in 1936 (finalized in 1938) from the New York Foundling Hospital, run by the [[Sisters of Charity of New York]].<ref>{{cite magazine | url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20118769,00.html | title=Good Night, Irene Dunne; Hollywood Loses An Airy and Elegant Gal from Film's Golden Age | magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]] | date=September 17, 1990 | access-date=May 8, 2016 | archive-date=March 4, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090214/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20118769,00.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="new">{{cite news|date=March 17, 1938|title=Irene Dunne Adopts Baby: Actress Formally Becomes Foster-Mother of Girl, 4|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1938/03/17/96806293.html|url-status=live|url-access=subscription|quote=Irene Dunne, screen actress, and her husband, Dr. Francis Griffin, have adopted a 4-year-old girl whom they have named Mary Frances Dunne, it was learned yesterday at the County Clerk's office, where the adoption order is on file.|page=17|archive-date=September 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175530/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1938/03/17/96806293.html}}</ref>

=== Religion ===
Dunne was a devout [[Catholic laity|Catholic laywoman]],<ref>{{cite magazine|title=She Needs TV Like a Hole in the Head|date=1952-08-01|magazine=TV-Radio Life|page=5|first=Arlene|last=Garber|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Life/50s/TV-Radio-Life-1952-08-01.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124163647/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Life/50s/TV-Radio-Life-1952-08-01.pdf|archive-date=2020-11-24|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/182349|title=Thirteen Women|publisher=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|quote=Irene Dunne, a devout Catholic,...|access-date=2010-08-12|first=Jeff|last=Stafford|archive-date=January 8, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108043827/http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=182349&mainArticleId=182340|url-status=live}}</ref> who became a daily [[communicant]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Actress Irene Dunne's Grandson Is Baptized |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57884468/irene-dunnes-grandson-baptised/ |work=The Catholic Advance |date=29 August 1958 |page=5 |quote=Father Chase says that Miss Dunne attends Mass and receives Communion daily. "When I was stationed in Los Angeles," he declares, "she missed only two days out of an entire year." |access-date=August 23, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175545/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57884468/irene-dunnes-grandson-baptised/ |url-status=live }}{{open access}}</ref> She was a member of the [[Church of the Good Shepherd (Beverly Hills, California)|Church of the Good Shepherd]] and the Catholic Motion Picture Guild in [[Beverly Hills, California]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gsbh.org/69|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200501155002/https://www.gsbh.org/69|archive-date=May 1, 2020|title=Our History|website=Church of the Good Shepherd|quote=The Guild and Good Shepherd Parish itself were soon populated by such film notables as [[Jackie Coogan]], [[Neil Hamilton (actor)|Neil Hamilton]] and [[Ben Turpin]] and in later years would include the likes of [[Ray Bolger]], [[Jane Wyman]], [[Jimmy Durante]], [[Danny Thomas]], Loretta Young, [[Gene Kelly]], [[Rosalind Russell]], Irene Dunne, [[Ricardo Montalbán|Ricardo Montalbano]] {{sic}}, [[Bob Newhart]], [[Jack Haley]] and [[MacDonald Carey]].|access-date=May 20, 2020|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref> In 1953, [[Pope Pius XII]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Callan |first1=Mary Ann |title=Pope Honors Southlanders |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/381255675/?terms=irene%20dunne%20knighted&match=1 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=1958-12-17 |quote=Two active Catholics in the entertainment world, Irene Dunne and [[Dennis Day]], were given the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem by Pius XII in 1953.}}</ref> awarded Dunne and her husband papal knighthoods as [[Dame]]{{refn|group=Note|name="Sepulchre"|Initially reported as "Lady",<ref name="Sepulchre"/> the true rank is actually "Dame," but "Lady" is sometimes used colloquially. See [[Order of the Holy Sepulchre#Ranks]] for more information.}} and [[Knight]] [[Order of the Holy Sepulchre|of the Holy Sepulchre]], respectively.<ref>{{cite news|date=1953-12-20|title=Actress and Singer Honored by the Church|work=The Tablet|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53377729/irene-dunne-and-dennis-day-receive/|quote=Honored with Miss Dunne was her husband, Dr. Francis {{sic|S.}} Griffin...|access-date=June 18, 2020|archive-date=August 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801234929/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53377729/irene-dunne-and-dennis-day-receive/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="malta"/> Griffin also became a [[Sovereign Military Order of Malta|Knight of Malta]] in 1949.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Parsons|first=Louella O.|date=1949-01-20|title=Ford to Direct "Pinky"; Tale of South's Problems|work=San Francisco Examiner|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57882930/ford-to-direct-pinky-tale-of-souths/|url-status=live|archive-date=September 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175617/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57882930/ford-to-direct-pinky-tale-of-souths/}}</ref>

==Death==
[[File:Irene Dunne Grave.JPG|thumb|190px|Crypt of Irene Dunne at Calvary Cemetery (notice incorrect birth year)]]
Dunne died at the age of 91 in her Holmby Hills home on September 4, 1990,<ref name="dies88">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-09-05-mn-512-story.html|title=Irene Dunne, Leading Star of '30s and '40s, Dies at 88|date=September 5, 1990|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=May 9, 2016|archive-date=June 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604051803/http://articles.latimes.com/1990-09-05/news/mn-512_1_irene-dunne|url-status=live}}</ref> and was entombed four days later{{sfnp|Schultz|1991|p=26}} next to her husband in the [[Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles]].<ref name="malta">{{cite book |first=Allan R. |last=Ellenberger |title=Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory |date=2001 |isbn=978-0786409839 |page=18 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8bOJCgAAQBAJ&q=knights+irene+dunne&pg=PA18 |chapter=Cavalry |publisher=McFarland |access-date=September 1, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175530/https://books.google.com/books?id=8bOJCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA18&dq=knights+irene+dunne |url-status=live }}</ref> She had been unwell for a year with an irregular heartbeat, and became bedridden about a month before.<ref name="freelance"/> The funeral was private with family friend [[Loretta Young]] being the only celebrity allowed to attend.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=[unknown] |magazine=[[Daily Variety]] |date=1990-09-11 |page=2 |quote=Loretta Young was the only celebrity in attendance at Irene Dunne's funeral. Irene's business manager, John Larkin, said she did not want the event turned into a circus, therefore only thirty people were invited. Even President Ronald Reagan was refused when he called to request an invitation.}}</ref>{{sfnp|Schultz|1991|p=26}} Her personal papers are housed at the [[University of Southern California]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://libguides.usc.edu/c.php?g=234988&p=1561661|title=USC Cinematic Arts Library's Archives of Performing Arts: Collections List|publisher=USC Libraries Research Guides|access-date=May 9, 2016|archive-date=May 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160512231346/http://libguides.usc.edu/c.php?g=234988&p=1561661|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:Irene Dunne addressing UN General Assembly hall.jpg|left|alt=Monochrome photograph of a bespectacled, short-haired woman in a suit jacket reading from papers at a podium|thumb|250px|Dunne addresses the [[United Nations General Assembly]]<ref name="harvp|Bell|1958"/> in 1957 about the United States' $21.8 million donation towards the [[United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees]] (UNRWA).<ref>{{cite news |title=U.S. Pledges Fund to Aid Refugees |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63589612/ |work=Valley Times |date=1957-10-05 |page=5}}</ref>]]
Dunne is considered one of the best actresses of [[The Golden Age of Hollywood]] never to win an Academy Award.<ref>{{cite web|first=Milton|last=Michael|url=http://michaelmilton.org/2008/01/22/neil-postman-irene-dunne-and-living|title=Neil Postman, Irene Dunne and Living|access-date=21 August 2010|date=2008-01-22|archive-date=November 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112143017/http://michaelmilton.org/2008/01/22/neil-postman-irene-dunne-and-living/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="rose">{{cite news |last1=Rose |first1=Rita |title=Late Irene Dunne Did Not Win Oscar, but Her Performances Were Nominated |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/106001323 |work=The Indianapolis Star |date=1990-10-05 |page=F-10}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Fristoe|1985|loc=ARTS|p=1}}: "Louisville native Irene Dunne is such a good actress that she never won an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]][. This] is easily explained. Like her frequent co-stars Cary Grant and Charles Boyer, Miss Dunne was so consistently splendid she was always taken for granted at Oscar time."</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.filmsite.org/noawards3.html|title=Academy Awards Snubbed by Oscar: Mistakes & Omissions|access-date=18 March 2019|archive-date=October 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018010009/http://www.filmsite.org/noawards3.html|url-status=live}}</ref> After ''[[I Remember Mama (film)|I Remember Mama]]'' was released, ''[[Liberty (general interest magazine)|Liberty]]'' magazine hoped she would "[[Dewey Defeats Truman|do a Truman]]" at the [[21st Academy Awards|1949 Oscars]]<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Wilson |first1=Elizabeth |title=Hollywood's Character Reference |magazine=Liberty |issue=April 1949 |page=26}}</ref> whereas [[Erskine Johnson]] called her and Best Actor nominee [[Montgomery Clift]] the [[dark horse]]s of that ceremony.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1949-03-01|title=1949 oscars predictions|pages=6|work=The Ponca City News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63579071/1949-oscars-predicitons/|access-date=2020-11-19}}</ref> In 1985, Roger Fristoe said "a generation of filmgoers is mostly unfamiliar with her work" because eleven{{sfnp|Schultz|1991|p=25}}<ref name="rose"/> of her movies had been remade, including ''Love Affair'' (remade as ''[[An Affair to Remember]]''), ''Show Boat'' (remade in [[Show Boat (1951 film)|1951]]), ''My Favorite Wife'' (remade as ''[[Move Over, Darling]]''),<ref>{{cite news |last1=Flynn |first1=Hazel |title="Move Over, Darling" Is a Riotous Comedy |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/684531517/ |work=Los Angeles Evening Citizen News |date=1963-12-24 |quote=''Move Over, Darling'' is a remake of a hit filmed years ago. Cary Grant and Irene Dunne played it originally, I believe.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Jewell |first1=Richard B. |last2=Harbin |first2=Vernon |date=1982 |title=The RKO Story |location=New York |publisher=Arlington House |isbn=978-0517546567|page=148}}</ref> and ''Cimarron'' (remade in [[Cimarron (1960 film)|1960]]).{{r|derby|rose}} Dunne explained she had lacked the "terrifying ambition" of some other actresses, commenting in 1977, "I drifted into acting and drifted out. Acting is not everything. Living is."<ref>{{cite book|last=Shipman|first=David|title=Movie Talk|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]]; St Martin's Press|year= 1988|page=37|isbn=978-0747501817}}</ref><ref>{{cite interview|last=Dunne|first=Irene|interviewer=James Bawden|date=10 September 1977|page=11|journal=American Classic Screen|title=A Visit with Irene Dunne}}</ref>
{{Infobox
| above            = Notable remakes of Dunne's films{{sfnp|Schultz|1991|p=25}}
| label1           = ''Cimarron''
| data1            = [[Cimarron (1960 film)|1960 remake]]
| label2           = ''Back Street''
| data2            = [[Back Street (1961 film)|1961 remake]]
| label3           = ''Roberta''
| data3            = ''[[Lovely to Look At]]'' (1952)
| label4           = ''Magnificent Obsession''
| data4            = [[Magnificent Obsession (1954 film)|1954 remake]]
| label5           = ''Show Boat''
| data5            = [[Show Boat (1951 film)|1951 remake]]
| label6           = ''The Awful Truth''
| data6            = ''[[Let's Do It Again (1953 film)|Let's Do It Again]]'' (1953)
| label7           = ''Love Affair''
| data7            = ''[[An Affair to Remember]]'' (1957)
| label8           = ''When Tomorrow Comes''
| data8            = ''[[Interlude (1957 film)|Interlude]]'' (1957)
| label9           = ''My Favorite Wife''
| data9            = ''[[Move Over, Darling]]'' (1963)
| label10          = ''A Guy Named Joe''
| data10           = ''[[Always (1989 film)|Always]]'' (1989)
| label11          = ''Anna and the King of Siam''
| data11           = ''[[The King and I (1956 film)|The King and I]]'' (1956)
}}

Although known for her comedic roles, Dunne admitted that she never saw comedy as a worthy genre, even leaving the country to attend the [[London]] premiere of ''Show Boat''{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|page=69}} with her husband and [[James Whale]] to get away from being confronted with a script for ''Theodora Goes Wild''.{{sfnp|McDonough|1985}} "I never admired a comedienne," she said retrospectively, "yet it was very easy for me, very natural. It was no effort for me to do comedy at all. Maybe that's why I wasn't so appreciative of it."{{sfnp|James Harvey|1978}} She ascribed her sense of humor to her late father,{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|page=9}} as well as her "Irish stubbornness."{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|page=8}} Her screwball comedy characters have been praised for their subversions to the traditional characterisation of female leads in the genre, particularly Susan ([[Katharine Hepburn]]) in ''[[Bringing Up Baby]]'' and Irene ([[Carole Lombard]]) in ''[[My Man Godfrey]]''. "Unlike the genre's stereotypical leading lady, who exhibits bonkers behaviour continuously, Dunne's screwball heroine [in ''Theodora Goes Wild''] chooses when she ''goes wild''," writes Wes D. Gehring,{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|page=71}} who also described Dunne's screwball as [[Situational comedies|situational]] because her characters often obfuscate wackiness to attract the male lead, and could turn it off when needed.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gehring |first1=Wes D. |title=Screwball Comedy: A Genre of Madcap Romance |date=1986 |publisher=Greenwood Press}}</ref>

Biographers and critics argue that Dunne's groundedness made her screwball characters more attractive than those of her contemporaries. In his review for ''My Favorite Wife'', [[Bosley Crowther]] wrote that a "mere man is powerless" to "her luxurious and mocking laughter, her roving eyes and come-hither glances."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Crowther|first=Bosley|date=1940-05-31|title=[''My Favorite Wife'' review]|page=15|work=The New York Times}}</ref> Maria DiBattista points out that Dunne is the "only comic actress working under the strictures of [[The Hays Code|the Production Code]]" who ends both of her screwball movies alongside Cary Grant with a heavy implication of sharing a bed with him, "under the guise of keeping him at bay."<ref>{{cite book|title=Fast-Talking Dames|year=2003|first=Maria|last=DiBattista|location=[[New Haven, Connecticut]]|publisher=[[Yale University Press]]|isbn=978-0300099034|edition=2|url=https://archive.org/details/fasttalkingdames0000diba|url-access=registration}}</ref> Frankie Teller claimed Dunne's sexiness had been overshadowed by her melodramatic movies until ''The Awful Truth'' was released.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Teller |first1=Frankie |title=Are Simple Sirens Sexiest? |url=https://archive.org/details/motionpicture58fawc/page/n335/ |work=Motion Picture |volume=LVIII |issue=4 |publisher=Fawcett Publications, inc. |date=August 1939 |page=76}}</ref> Meanwhile, outside of comedy, [[Andrew Sarris]] theorized that Dunne's [[sex appeal]] is due to the common narrative in her movies about a good girl "going bad."<ref name="Sarris">{{cite news|title=Irene Dunne orbituary|first=Andrew|last=Sarris|work=New York Observer|date=17 September 1990}}</ref> Dunne's backstage "First Lady" reputation furthered Sarris' sex appeal claims, admitting the scene when she shares a [[train carriage]] with [[Preston Foster]] in ''Unfinished Business'' was practically his "rite of passage" to a sex scene in a film,<ref name="Sarris"/> theorizing that the sex appeal of Dunne came from "a good girl deciding thoughtfully to be bad."<ref name="Sarris"/> On the blatant eroticism of the same train scene, Megan McGurk wrote, "The only thing that allowed this film to pass the censors was that good-girl Irene Dunne can have a [[one-night stand]] with a random because she loves him, rather than just a once-off fling. For most other women of her star magnitude, you could not imagine a heroine without a moral compass trained on true north. Irene Dunne elevates a tawdry encounter to something justifiably pure or blameless. She's just not the casual sex type, so she gets away with it."<ref>{{cite web|first=Megan|last=McGurk|title=Irene Dunne's Unfinished Business|url=https://sassmouthdames.com/2017/06/02/irene-dunnes-unfinished-business/|website=SassMouthDames.com|date=2 June 2017|access-date=19 March 2019|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802020703/https://sassmouthdames.com/2017/06/02/irene-dunnes-unfinished-business/amp/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The ''Los Angeles Times'' referred to Dunne's publicity in their obituary as trailblazing, noting her as one of the first actors to become a [[freelancer]] in Hollywood during its rigid [[studio system]] through her "non-exclusive contract that gave her the right to make films at other studios and to decide who should direct them,"<ref name="LA"/> and her involvement with the United Nations as a decision that allowed entertainers from movies and television to branch out into philanthropy and politics, such as Ronald Reagan and [[George Murphy]].<ref name="LA"/>{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|p=172-73}}

Dunne later said, "[[Cary Grant]] always said that I had the best timing of anybody he ever worked with."{{sfnp|James Harvey|1978}} [[Lucille Ball]] admitted at an [[American Film Institute]] seminar that she based her comedic skills on Dunne's performance in ''[[Joy of Living]]'',{{sfnp|Gehring|2003|page=185}} [[Joan Leslie]] called her an "outstanding example as a woman and a star."{{sfnp|Schultz|1991|p=27}} [[Charles Boyer]] described her having "an irrepressible youthfulness"<ref name="Boyer"/> and [[Ralph Bellamy]] described working in three films with her as "like a three-layered cake with candles[. She was] truly professional, extremely talented, and socially attractive and beautiful."{{sfnp|Schultz|1991|p=27}} When asked about life after retiring from baseball, [[Lou Gehrig]] stated he would want Dunne as a screen partner if he ever became a movie actor.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eig |first1=Jonathan |title=Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig |date=2006 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-0743268936 |page=219}}</ref> [[Charles Mendl]] once called her one of the most attractive and fascinating women in the world "who has beauty as an accomplished actress and sophisticated conversationalist."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hopper|first=Hedda|date=1948-11-23|title=Rudy Vallee's Life Story Being Written For Movie|page=23|work=Forth Worth Star Telegram|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63705065/}}</ref> Dunne told James Bawden in 1977: "Now don't you dare call me normal. I was never a Pollyanna. There was always a lot of Theodora in me."<ref name="Bawden"/>

In 2006, a historical marker was erected on 105 E. Main Street in [[Madison, Indiana]], to honor her contributions to the state.<ref>{{Cite web |last=IHB |date=2020-12-07 |title=Irene Dunne |url=https://www.in.gov/history/state-historical-markers/find-a-marker/irene-dunne/ |access-date=2024-06-13 |website=IHB |language=en}}</ref>

==Awards and nominations==
{{Multiple image
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| total_width = 210
| image1 =Irene Dunne with her husband and daughter.jpg 
| alt1 = 
| caption1 = Dunne looking at her Laetare Medal with her husband and daughter, Mary Frances, at the University of Notre Dame in 1949.
| image2 = Irene Dunne and Cardinal McIntyre.jpg
| caption2 =Dunne with [[James Francis McIntyre|Cardinal McIntyre]] at Loyola University's graduation ceremony in 1958. She attended to accept her honorary Law degree and give a [[commencement speech]]. 
| image3 = Irene Dunne Graumans.jpg
| caption3 = Dunne's handprints outside [[Grauman's Chinese Theatre]].
}}
Dunne received five [[Best Actress in a Leading Role|Best Actress]] nominations during her career: for ''[[Cimarron (1931 film)|Cimarron]]'' (1931), ''[[Theodora Goes Wild]]'' (1936), ''[[The Awful Truth]]'' (1937), ''[[Love Affair (1939 film)|Love Affair]]'' (1939) and ''[[I Remember Mama (film)|I Remember Mama]]'' (1948); she was the first actor to lose against the same actor in the same category twice, losing to Best Actress winner [[Luise Rainer]] in 1936 and 1937.<ref>{{cite web |title=Oscar deja lose: Amy Adams would be 5th performer to be defeated by the same person twice |url=https://www.goldderby.com/article/2019/amy-adams-fifth-performer-lose-oscar-same-person-rachel-weisz/ |website=Gold Derby |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802055445/https://www.goldderby.com/article/2019/amy-adams-fifth-performer-lose-oscar-same-person-rachel-weisz/ |archive-date=August 2, 2020 |date=February 23, 2019 |url-status=bot: unknown |access-date=May 26, 2020 }}</ref> When asked if she ever resented never winning, Dunne pointed out that the nominees she was up against had strong support, believing that she would never have had a chance, especially when ''Love Affair'' was against ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]''.<ref name="Bawden"/> "I don't mind at all," she told Joyce Haber, "[[Greta Garbo]] never got an Oscar either [and] she's a living legend."<ref name="haber">{{cite news |last1=Haber |first1=Joyce |title=The Sweet Smell of Irene Dunne |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/386248442/ |work=Los Angeles Times |date=1975-03-16 |page=33 |access-date=August 24, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175546/https://www.newspapers.com/image/386248442/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

However, Dunne was honored numerous times for her philanthropy from Catholic organizations and schools, receiving the [[University of Notre Dame]]'s [[Laetare Medal]],{{sfnp|Bochenek|2015}} and the Bellarmine Medal from [[Bellarmine College]].<ref name="fristoe"/> She received numerous [[honorary doctorate]]s,<ref name="seven">{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne Speaker for Awards Dinner |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53409147/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |work=The Daily Sentinel |date=1968-06-05 |access-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175548/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53409147/the-daily-sentinel/ |url-status=live }}</ref> including from Chicago Musical College (for music),<ref name="motion">{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Motion Picture Magazine]]|title=One of the screen's first ladies...as seen by one of the nation's first artists. A revealing, intimate portrait|page=50|quote=Few Hollywood stars have been awarded honorary degrees. Even fewer can add M.D. to their names. Were Irene Dunne the boastful kind, she could brag about both of these distinctions, for Chicago Musical College made her an M.D. ...|volume=72}}</ref> [[Loyola University Chicago School of Law|Loyola University]] and [[Mount Saint Mary College (New Hampshire)|Mount St. Mary's College]] (both for [[Law degree|Law]]).{{sfnp|Bochenek|2015}}<ref name="LA">{{cite news |title=From the Archives: Irene Dunne, Leading Star of '30s and '40s, Dies at 88 |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/archives/la-me-irene-dunne-19900905-snap-story.html |newspaper=LA Times |date=1990-09-05 |access-date=May 16, 2020 |archive-date=June 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605171634/https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/archives/la-me-irene-dunne-19900905-snap-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> For her film career, she was honored by the Kennedy Center,<ref name=ken>{{cite web |title=Kennedy Center Biographical Info for Irene Dunne |url=http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&entitY_id=3722&source_type=A |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070805080258/http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&entitY_id=3722&source_type=A |archive-date=2007-08-05 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVDAySFZGV8|title=Kennedy Center Honors Irene Dunne (1985)|access-date=17 March 2019|website=[[YouTube]]|date=December 11, 2012 |archive-date=March 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331050925/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVDAySFZGV8|url-status=live}}</ref> a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] at 6440 Hollywood Blvd,<ref>{{cite web |title=Irene Dunne |url=https://walkoffame.com/irene-dunne/ |website=[[Hollywood Walk of Fame|walkoffame.com]]|date=October 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602094145/https://walkoffame.com/irene-dunne/|archive-date=2020-06-02|url-status=live}}</ref> and displays in the [[Warner Bros.]] Museum and Center for Motion Picture Study.<ref>[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]], [[Margaret Herrick]] Library, 2000, Gifts of [[Vanna Bonta]]</ref> A two-sided marker was erected in Dunne's childhood hometown of Madison in 2006.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Vlerebome |first1=Peggy |title=Dunne honored with historic marker |url=https://www.madisoncourier.com/archives/dunne-honored-with-historic-marker/article_1ad94adf-74e2-5a82-a8ab-2c0c967e4a19.html |work=Madison Courier |date=2006-05-19 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201124151430/https://www.madisoncourier.com/archives/dunne-honored-with-historic-marker/article_1ad94adf-74e2-5a82-a8ab-2c0c967e4a19.html |archive-date=November 24, 2020 |access-date=November 24, 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="sign">{{cite web |title=IHB: Irene Dunne |url=https://www.in.gov/history/3741.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801223552/https://www.in.gov/history/3741.htm |archive-date=August 1, 2020 |date=May 19, 2006 |access-date=May 17, 2020 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
|+Received honors
!Award !!Year !!scope="col" class="unsortable"| {{Abbr|Ref(s)|Reference(s)}}
|-
!scope="row"|American Society for the Hard of Hearing's Best Diction Award
|1936
|style="text-align:center;"|{{sfnp|Schultz|1991|p=180}}
|-
!scope="row"|Chicago Musical College honorary [[Doctor of Music]]
|1945
|style="text-align:center;"|<ref>{{Cite news|date=1945-06-11|title=Dr. Irene Dunne|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|page=2|work=The Portsmouth Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/56530810/|access-date=August 25, 2020|archive-date=September 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175554/https://www.newspapers.com/image/56530810/|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfnp|Bochenek|2015}}<ref name="teacher"/>
|-
!scope=row|[[Grauman's Chinese Theatre]] Handprints
|1946
|style="text-align:center;"|<ref>{{cite web |title=Imprint Ceremonies Archive {{!}} TCL Chinese Theatres |url=http://www.tclchinesetheatres.com/imprint-ceremonies-archive/ |publisher=[[Grauman's Chinese Theatre]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929110145/http://www.tclchinesetheatres.com/imprint-ceremonies-archive/#ert_pane1-2 |archive-date=September 29, 2020 |url-status=bot: unknown |access-date=November 19, 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Browse by Ceremony Date - Grauman's Chinese Theater : Classic Movie Hub (CMH) |url=http://www.classicmoviehub.com/graumans-chinese-theater/all/ceremony-date/page/4/ |website=Classic Movie Hub - CMH |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124180145/http://www.classicmoviehub.com/graumans-chinese-theater/all/ceremony-date/page/4/ |archive-date=November 24, 2020 |url-status=bot: unknown |access-date=November 19, 2020 }}</ref>
|-
!scope=row|[[National Conference of Christians and Jews|NCCJ]]'s American Brotherhood Award
|1948
|style="text-align:center;"|<ref>{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne Honored by Conference |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53380107/petaluma-argus-courier/ |work=[[Petaluma Argus-Courier]] |date=1948-12-20 |location=[[Petaluma, California]] |page=1 |quote=The National Conference of Christians and Jews has named Irene Dunne as the person "who has done most in 1948 to promote better understanding among peoples of all faiths." |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614103039/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53380107/petaluma-argus-courier/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="about">{{cite web |title=Irene Dunne Guild |url=https://www.irenedunneguild.org/about-us.html |website=Irene Dunne Guild |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801232329/https://www.irenedunneguild.org/about-us.html |archive-date=August 1, 2020 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 19, 2020 }}</ref><ref name="Moines" />
|-
!scope="row" |[[Laetare Medal]]
|rowspan=5|1949
|style="text-align:center;"|{{sfnp|Bochenek|2015}}<ref>{{Cite news|date=1949-06-30|title=Irene Dunne Gets 'Laetare' Medal at Notre Dame|page=20|work=The News Palladium|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/365684786|url-status=live|archive-date=September 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175537/https://www.newspapers.com/image/365684786/}}</ref>
|-
!scope=row|[[American Heart Association]] Gold Medal
|style="text-align:center;"|<ref>{{cite journal |title=Heart Association |journal=Air Bulletin |date=1949-07-01 |page=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tabNgvUO2gsC&dq=irene+dunne+distinguished+service+award&pg=PA4 |publisher=U.S. Department of State Wireless Bulletin}}</ref><ref name="Courier">{{cite news |last1=Cole |first1=Phil |title=It's time for Madison to honor Irene Dunne |url=https://www.madisoncourier.com/archives/it-s-time-for-madison-to-honor-irene-dunne/article_346b7c4a-c9fd-59a1-8215-c57f8e6cfd8c.html |work=Madison Courier |date=2005-10-28 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201124151911/https://www.madisoncourier.com/archives/it-s-time-for-madison-to-honor-irene-dunne/article_346b7c4a-c9fd-59a1-8215-c57f8e6cfd8c.html |archive-date=November 24, 2020 |access-date=November 24, 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
!scope=row|Protestant Motion Picture Council Award{{refn|group=Note|Shared with the cast and crew of ''[[I Remember Mama (film)|I Remember Mama]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title="I Remember Mama" Win Church Group Award |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/599420895/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |work=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |date=1949-01-28 |url-access=subscription |access-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175535/https://www.newspapers.com/image/599420895/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
|style="text-align:center;"|<ref name="well done">{{cite news |last1=Baer |first1=Louise |title=Well Dunne, Irene |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/35958082/ |work=The Syracuse Post Standard |date=1949-05-08 |url-access=subscription |page=27 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614105003/https://www.newspapers.com/image/35958082/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
!scope="row"|American Motherhood Pictures Award
|style="text-align:center;"|<ref name="well done"/>
|-
!scope=row|Woman's Voice of the Year
|style="text-align:center;"|<ref name="chairman"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Miss Dunne Wins |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63709146/ |work=Metropolitan Pasadena Star-News |date=1949-02-15}}</ref>
|-
!scope=row|[[Papal Lateran Cross|Lateran Cross]]
|rowspan=3|1951
|style="text-align:center;"|<ref name="lateran">{{cite news |last1=Hicks |first1=Cordell |title=Irene Dunne: Magnetic, Gentle Woman |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53362234/irene-dunne-magnetic-gentle-woman/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |work=Los Angeles Times |date=1959-08-11 |access-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614103024/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53362234/irene-dunne-magnetic-gentle-woman/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
!scope=row|[[Los Angeles Times Women of the Year Silver Cup|''Los Angeles Times'' Woman of the Year]]
|style="text-align:center;"|<ref name="lateran"/>
|-
!scope=row| New York Dress Institute's International Best Dressed Women
|style="text-align:center;"|<ref name="duchess">{{cite news |title=Duchess of Windsor Voted Queen Of World's Best Dressed Women |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63670114/ |work=The Indianapolis Star |date=1951-12-30}}</ref>
|-
!scope=row|[[Dame of the Holy Sepulchre]]
|1953
|style="text-align:center;"|<ref name="malta"/><ref name="Sepulchre"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Catholics Honor Irene Dunne, Dennis Day |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53377908/catholics-honor-irene-dunne-and-dennis-d/ |work=Santa Cruz Sentinel |date=1953-12-03 |page=2 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175539/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53377908/catholics-honor-irene-dunne-and-dennis/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
!scope=row|Honorary member of the [[Madison, Indiana|Madison]] Chamber of Commerce
|1954
|style="text-align:center;"|<ref>{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne Is Honored by Local Chamber |work=Madison Courier |date=May 3, 1954}}</ref>
|-
!scope=row|[[International Best Dressed List]]
|rowspan=3|1958
|style="text-align:center;"|<ref name="Vanity">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/bestdressed/bestdressed_women?currentPage=1 |title=Best Dressed Women|magazine=Vanity Fair|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130712215415/http://www.vanityfair.com/style/the-international-best-dressed-list/hall-of-fame-women |archive-date=2013-07-12 }}</ref>
|-
!scope=row|Indiana's Woman of the Year
|style="text-align:center;"|<ref>{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne Named Woman of the Year|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53386885/ |work=Indianapolis News |date=April 11, 1958|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
|-
!scope=row|Loyola University honorary Law degree
|style="text-align:center;"|<ref>{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne Delivers Speech At Loyola U. |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53378721/the-colton-courier/ |work=[[The Colton Courier]] |date=1958-06-16 |access-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614103023/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53378721/the-colton-courier/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
!scope=row|[[Seattle University]] honorary Law degree
|1959
|style="text-align:center;"|<ref>{{Cite news|date=1959-06-08|title=Actress Pleads For 'Character'|work=Albany Democrat-Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63578220/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=1959-04-24|title=Late News Briefs: To Hear Irene Dunne|pages=10|work=The Catholic Advance|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63578270/irene-dunne-late-news-briefs/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=1959-06-08|title=[UNTITLED]|pages=9|work=The Windsor Star|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63578184/irene-dunne-with-rev-thomas-a-connolly/|quote=IRENE BOWS - The film actress, Irene Dunne kneels to kiss the ring of Most Rev. [[Thomas Arthur Connolly|Thomas A. Connolly]], Roman Catholic Archbishop of Seattle, at Seattle University commencement exercises. Archbishop Connolly conferred an honorary doctor-of-laws degree on Miss Dunne.}}</ref>
|-
!scope=row|St. Mary's College honorary Law degree
|1964
|style="text-align:center;"|<ref name="Sepulchre">{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne Tells Graduates 'Sell What You Have And Give to the Poor' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/17880584/ |work=[[The Leavenworth Times]] |date=1964-05-29 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |url-access=subscription |access-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614103035/https://www.newspapers.com/image/17880584/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Irene Dunne Honored |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57885666/ |work=The Daily Chronicle |date=6 June 1949 |quote=The Los Angeles school conferred the degree on the actress yesterday "in recognition of her courageous fidelity to Catholic principles in public and private life" and for her work in cancer research organizations. |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=August 23, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175552/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57885666/st-mary-honorary-degree/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
!scope=row|Bellarmine Medal
|1965
|style="text-align:center;"|<ref name="fristoe">{{harvp|Fristoe|1985}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=College Honors Irene Dunne |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/458944183/ |work=The San Francisco Examiner |date=1965-02-25 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175557/https://www.newspapers.com/image/458944183/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
!scope=row|Mannequins of the Assistance League of Southern California's Golden Eve Award
|1967
|style="text-align:center;"|{{sfnp|Schultz|1991|p=184}}
|-
!scope=row|[[Colorado Women of Achievement]]
|1968
|style="text-align:center;"|<ref name="seven"/>
|-
!scope=row|St. John's Hospital and Health Center's Lifetime Trustee
|1982
|style="text-align:center;"|<ref name="lifetime">{{cite news |last1=Jacobs |first1=Jody |title=Friends of Joffery Get Bibs Ready |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57958713/ |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=1985-04-28 |page=4 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=August 24, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914175558/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57958713/friends-of-joffrey-get-dinner-bibs/ |url-status=live }}{{open access}}</ref>
|-
!scope=row|Irene Dunne Guild bust
|rowspan=2|1985
|style="text-align:center;"|<ref name="Sculpture"/>
|-
!scope=row|Kennedy Center Honoree
|style="text-align:center;"|<ref name="ken"/>
|}

==Performances==
[[Irene Dunne credits]] details her film, television and radio credits.

==Box–office ranking==
{{See also|Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll}}
* 1936: 17th
* 1938: 23rd
* 1939: 24th
* 1944: 19th
* 1948: 24th

==Discography==
"[[Lovely to Look At]]" was the only song Dunne performed in a non-musical movie that entered the Billboard charts, peaking at number 20 in early June 1935.{{sfnp|Schultz|1991|p=171}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Irene Dunne Songs ••• Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts |url=https://www.musicvf.com/Irene+Dunne.art |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417105556/http://musicvf.com/Irene+Dunne.art |archive-date=April 17, 2019 |access-date=June 22, 2020 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
! Year !! Single !! Credits !! Format !! Labels (serial number) !! Ref.
|-
|1935 || "[[When I Grow Too Old to Dream]]"/"Lovely to Look At" || {{bulleted list|Performed with [[Nat Shilkret]]'s orchestra|Recorded April 4 in New York|Top 20 single}} || [[78 rpm]] || {{bulleted list|[[Brunswick Records]] (7420, 02048)|[[Columbia Records]] (DB-1805)|[[Epic Records]] (SN-6059)}} || {{sfnp|Schultz|1991|p=171}}
|}

[[Decca Records]] released Dunne's only album, titled ''Irene Dunne in [[Songs from the Pen of Jerome Kern]]'',{{refn|group=Note|Also known as ''Songs by Jerome Kern'',<ref>{{cite news |title=[advertizing section] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53729862/the-evening-times/ |work=The Evening Times |date=1946-11-27 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=June 19, 2020 |archive-date=June 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622082225/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53729862/the-evening-times/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Jerome Kern Songs'',<ref>{{cite news |title=[advertizing section:] Investments in Pleasure |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53729626/the-morning-call/ |work=The Morning Call |date=1947-03-19 |access-date=June 19, 2020 |archive-date=June 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621142554/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53729626/the-morning-call/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Irene Dunne in Songs by Jerome Kern'',<ref>{{cite news |title=The Billboard Popularity Charts: Advanced Information |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ERoEAAAAMBAJ&q=billboard+irene+dunne&pg=PT26 |work=The Billboard |date=1946-11-02 |page=27}}</ref> and ''Irene Dunne Souvenir Album''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ruppli |first1=Michel |title=The Decca labels: A Discography |date=1996 |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, Conn. |isbn=0313299846 |page=216 |url=https://archive.org/details/deccalabelsdisco06rupp/page/216/}}</ref>}} which contained recordings of six [[show tune]]s composed by [[Jerome Kern]]. It was recorded between July 16 and August 24, 1941, with [[Victor Young]]'s orchestra,<ref name=amount>{{cite web |title=Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Irene Dunne (vocalist)" |url=https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/talent/detail/156657/Dunne_Irene_vocalist |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424122312/https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/talent/detail/156657/Dunne_Irene_vocalist |archive-date=April 24, 2019 |access-date=June 19, 2020 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> making Dunne another singing movie star to create a Jerome Kern album.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Woodward |first1=Leroy |title=Platter Clatter |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53729595/jerome-kern-albums/ |work=The Owensboro Messenger |date=1947-03-09 |quote=INTERSTATE stands ready with the musical highlights on record, offering both albums and records. The albums include the following : ''[[Bing Crosby|BING CROSBY]]'S JEROME KERN SONGS'', ''JEROME KERN SONGS'' [by] ([[Fred Waring|FRED WARING]]), ''JEROME KERN SONGS'' (IRENE DUNNE), ''JEROME KERN'' ([[Al Goodman|AL GOODMAN]]), ''JEROME KERN'S SHOW TUNES'' (AL GOODMAN), ''JEROME KERN'S MUSIC'' (CAPITOL ARTISTS) |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=June 19, 2020 |archive-date=June 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622023424/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53729595/jerome-kern-albums/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==References==
=== Notes ===
{{reflist|group=Note}}

===Citations===
{{reflist|30em}}

===Other sources===
* {{cite book|last=Gehring|first=Wes D.|title=Irene Dunne: First Lady of Hollywood|location=[[Lanham, Maryland]]|publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]]|year=2003|isbn=978-0810858640|editor-first=Anthony|editor-last=Slide}}
* {{cite news |last1=Fristoe |first1=Roger |title=Louisville's Own: Irene Dunne |work=Courier Journal |date=1985-12-15|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/109791270/?terms=Louisville%27s%2BOwn%3A%2BIrene%2BDunne|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}
* {{cite news|title=Hats, Hunches and Happiness|author=Irene Dunne|publisher=England|url=http://www.irenedunnesite.com/press/picturegoer-february-17-1945/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110204090609/http://www.irenedunnesite.com/press/picturegoer-february-17-1945/|archive-date=2011-02-04|magazine=[[Picturegoer]]|date=February 17, 1945|url-status=usurped|ref={{sfnRef|''Hats, Hunches & Happiness'' by Irene Dunne|1945}}}}
* {{cite interview|first=Irene|last=Dunne|interviewer=John McDonough|year=1985|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1985-05-12-8501290637-story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190317230947/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1985-05-12-8501290637-story.html|archive-date=2019-03-17|title=Screening of the Past: A Rare Interview with Irene Dunne|ref={{sfnRef|McDonough|1985}}}}
* {{cite interview|first=Irene|last=Dunne|interviewer=James Harvey|year=1978|url=http://www.irenedunnesite.com/press/interview-with-james-harvey-1978/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130814163023/http://www.irenedunnesite.com/press/interview-with-james-harvey-1978/|archive-date=2013-08-14|title=Interview with James Harvey, September 1978|url-status=usurped|ref={{sfnRef|James Harvey|1978}}}}
* {{cite web |url-status=usurped |url=http://www.irenedunnesite.com/biography/the-pre-hollywood-years-1898-1929/ |title=The Irene Dunne Site: The Pre-Hollywood Years – 1898–1929 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131205071729/http://www.irenedunnesite.com/biography/the-pre-hollywood-years-1898-1929/ |ref={{sfnRef|Pre-Hollywood Years|1898–1929}} |archive-date=December 5, 2013 |access-date=December 5, 2013 }}
* {{Cite book|title=Irene Dunne: A Bio-Bibliography|last=Schultz|first=Margie|publisher=[[Greenwood Press]]|year=1991|isbn=978-0-313-27399-5|series=Bio-Bibliographies in the Performing Arts}}
* {{cite news |last1=Birmingham |first1=Stephen |title=What Have They Done to... Irene Dunne |url=http://www.irenedunnesite.com/press/mccall-s-august-1964/ |work=[[McCall's]] |issue=August 1964 |date=1964 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109201318/http://www.irenedunnesite.com/press/mccall-s-august-1964/ |ref={{harvid|''McCall's''|1964}} |archive-date=January 9, 2022 |page=100 |access-date=December 9, 2020 |url-status=usurped }}
* {{cite news |last1=Bell |first1=Joseph N. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/80387458/|title=Irene Dunne: Saleslady for the U.N. |work=[[Family Weekly]] |date=1958-01-12|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|pages=4–5}}
* {{cite news|url=http://www.irenedunnesite.com/press/vanity-fair-march-2004/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816134816/http://www.irenedunnesite.com/press/vanity-fair-march-2004/|archive-date=2016-08-16|title=Everyone Loved Irene|author=William Frye|year=2004|website=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|url-status=usurped|ref={{harvid|Frye|2004}}}}
* {{cite web |title=Irene Dunne {{!}} Hometowns to Hollywood |author=Dr. Annette Bochenek |url=https://hometownstohollywood.com/2015/09/03/irene-dunne/ |website=Hometowns to Hollywood |ref={{sfnRef|Bochenek|2015}} |date=2015-09-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516165626/https://hometownstohollywood.com/2015/09/03/irene-dunne/ |archive-date=May 16, 2020 |url-status=bot: unknown |access-date=May 16, 2020 }}
* {{cite news |author1=Don Ward |title=Irene Dunne's career was a true success story |url=http://www.roundaboutmadison.com/InsidePages/ArchivedArticles/2006/0306IDBio.html |work=Roundabout Entertainment Guide |publisher=Kentuckianana Publishing Inc. |date=March 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801214908/http://www.roundaboutmadison.com/InsidePages/ArchivedArticles/2006/0306IDBio.html |ref={{sfnRef|Ward|2006}} |archive-date=August 1, 2020 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 2, 2020 }}

==Further reading==
===Books===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|title=Leading Ladies: The 50 Most Unforgettable Actresses of the Studio Era|publisher=[[Chronicle Books]]|location=[[San Francisco]]|date= 2006|isbn=978-0811852487|author=Turner Classic Movies|first2=Robert|last2=Osborne|author-link2=Robert Osborne|author-link=Turner Classic Movies}}
* {{cite book|title=Pursuits of Happiness: Hollywood Comedy of Remarriage|url=https://archive.org/details/pursuitsofhappin00cave|url-access=registration|first=Stanley|last=Cavell|location=[[Cambridge, Massachusetts]]|year=1981|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|isbn=978-0674739062}}
* {{cite book|title=The Runaway Bride: Hollywood Romantic Comedy of the 1930s|first=Elizabeth|last=Kendall|year=1990|publisher=[[Cooper Square Publishers]]|isbn=978-0815411994|location=[[New York City]]}}
* {{cite book|title=Independent Stardom: Freelance Women in the Hollywood Studio System|first=Emily|last=Carman|date= 2015|isbn=978-1477307816|publisher=[[University of Texas Press]]|location=[[Austin, TX]]}}
{{refend}}

===Interviews===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite interview|first=Irene|last=Dunne|interviewer=[[John Kobal]]|year=1972|title=Interview with John Kobal|url=http://www.irenedunnesite.com/press/interview-with-john-kobal-1972/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110129054233/http://www.irenedunnesite.com/press/interview-with-john-kobal-1972/|archive-date=2011-01-29|publisher=[[Alfred A. Knopf]] (1 January 1986)|url-status=usurped|work=People Will Talk}}

{{refend}}

===Articles===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite web |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1272/is_2698_132/ai_104971314/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120531150630/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1272/is_2698_132/ai_104971314/|archive-date=2012-05-31|title=I'm Still In Love With Irene Dunne|first=Wes D.|last=Gehring|website=[[FindArticles]]|year=2003|ref={{sfnRef|I'm Still in Love with Irene}}}}
* {{cite magazine|url=http://www.filmsofthegoldenage.com/foga/1998/fall98/irenedunne.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041211022012/http://www.filmsofthegoldenage.com/foga/1998/fall98/irenedunne.shtml|archive-date=2004-12-11|title=Irene Dunne – Elegant Leading Lady of the Golden Age|first=John|last=Roberts|issue=14|year=1998}}
* {{cite magazine|title=We Remember Irene|first=Richard|last=Schickel|author-link=Richard Schickel|location=[[New York City]]|issue=March/April|year=1991|magazine=[[Film Comment]]|publisher=[[Film Society of Lincoln Center]]}}
* {{cite magazine|title=Irene Dunne: Nominee for The Awful Truth|magazine=[[Architectural Digest]]|location=[[Los Angeles]]|first=Richard|last=Schickel|author-link=Richard Schickel|editor-first=Paige|editor-last=Rense|editor-link=Paige Rense|issue=April|year=1990}}
* "Irene Dunne (1904–1990): A Bright Star," ''Filmnews,''by Peter Kemp November 1990.
* {{cite news|title=Irene Dunne, Top-rank Film Star of the '30s and '40s, Dead at 88|work=Variety|location=New York|date=1990-09-10}}
* "Irene Dunne: The Awesome Truth," ''Film Comment'' (New York), by James McCourt January/February 1980.
* "Irene Dunne: Native Treasure," ''Close-Ups: The Movie Star Book'', DeWitt Bodeen, edited by Danny Peary, New York, 1978.
* Irene Dunne, in ''Films in Review'' (New York), Madden, J. C., December 1969.
{{refend}}

=== Other ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{url|1=https://www.britishpathe.com/video/VLVAERDOUHEO9PZFZYV9YZTVSVWWF-USA-ARAB-REFUGEE-QUESTION-BEFORE-UN-ASSEMBLY/|2=Irene Dunne addressing the United Nations General Assembly, October 1957}} (from 2:11)
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote|Irene Dunne}}
{{Commons category|Irene Dunne}}
* {{IMDb name|2050}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{Tcmdb name}}
* {{Discogs artist}}
* {{url|http://www.filmreference.com/Actors-and-Actresses-Da-Ea/Dunne-Irene.html| Irene Dunne}} Film Reference by Jeanine Basinger
* {{url|1=http://film.virtual-history.com/person.php?personid=576 |2=Photographs of Irene Dunne}}
* {{Internet Archive author|search=creator:"Irene Dunne"|media=audio|name=Irene Dunne|coda=(audio recordings)}}

{{Kennedy Center Honorees 1980s}}{{Portal bar|Biography|Film|Music|Theatre}}
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