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American actress Claire Luce appeared in many Hollywood and British films during the '30s. She got her start in New York after running away from home, making her debut on Broadway in the 1921 production Little Jesse James. Though still a teen, Luce then became a dancer for Texas Guinan's troupe and later worked with the Ziegfeld Follies in Paris. During the '30s, Luce often appeared on the London stage. She worked with Fred Astaire for a time in both the London and Broadway productions of The Gay Divorcee. In the late '40s, Luce stopped appearing in musicals and began working as a serious actress at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. She was the first American actress to perform there.