Irene Rich on AllMovie

Born Irene Luther. She worked in real estate before breaking into films as an extra in 1918, when she was 27. She starred in dozens of melodramas targeted at women audiences in the '20s, usually playing mature, aristocratic, sophisticated roles. Gradually she moved into maternal supporting roles, and in the early sound era she played Will Rogers' nagging wife in several films. In 1932 she retired form the screen, becoming a very popular radio star on the long-running series Dear John. In the mid '30s she appeared in several Broadway shows, then in 1938 she returned to films and appeared in a handful of productions over the next decade.