Claire Bloom Biography

Claire Bloom

Although she made her theatrical debut in 1946, Bloom was discovered by Charlie Chaplin and cast as the ballerina in his film, Limelight (1950). Since then, Bloom has appeared in numerous stage, film, and television productions, including: The Haunting (1963), A Doll's House (New York, 1970; film, 1973), A Streetcar Named Desire (London, 1974), Brideshead Revisited (1981), Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), and The Age of Innocence (1993). She even portrayed Hera to Laurence Olivier's Zeus in the 1981 movie, The Clash of the Titans. Other roles include Mighty Aphrodite (1995) and Yesterday's Children (2000). Bloom maintains an active stage career and performed in her own one-woman show, Enter the Actress (1998). She was married to actor Rod Steiger (1959–69) and novelist Philip Roth (1990–95). She has published two memoirs: Limelight and After (1982) about her career, and in 1998. Leaving a Doll's House, concerning her marriage to Roth.