A stage, film, and television star, during her year professional career, she was known for her strong, realistic screen presence and versatility. She was a favorite of directors, including Cecil B. Orphaned at the age of four and partially raised in foster homes, she always worked. One of her directors, Jacques Tourneur , said of her, "She only lives for two things, and both of them are work.
Her first lead role, which was in the hit Burlesque , established her as a Broadway star. In , she began acting in talking pictures. Frank Capra chose her for his romantic drama Ladies of Leisure In , she played the title role in Stella Dallas , for which she earned her first Academy Award nomination for best actress.
In , she starred in Union Pacific. She received her second Academy Award nomination for Ball of Fire , and in the decades since its release The Lady Eve has come to be regarded as a comedic classic, with Stanwyck's performance called one of the best in American comedy.
By , Stanwyck had become the highest-paid actress in the United States. She starred with Fred MacMurray in the seminal film noir Double Indemnity , playing the wife who persuades an insurance salesman to kill her husband, for which she received her third Oscar nomination.
In , she starred as a homemaker columnist in the hit romantic comedy Christmas in Connecticut. She garnered her fourth Oscar nomination for her performance as an invalid wife in the noir-thriller Sorry, Wrong Number Stanwyck's film career declined by the start of the s, despite having a fair number of leading and major supporting roles in the decade, the most successful being Executive Suite DeMille Award in , and several other honorary lifetime awards.
