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Clare Boothe LuceAmerican playwright, editor, journalist, ambassador, socialite, and U.S. Congresswoman representing Connecticut
Date of Birth: 10.04.1903
Country:  USA |
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Biography of Clare Boothe Luce
Clare Boothe Luce was an American playwright, editor, journalist, ambassador, socialite, and U.S. congresswoman representing the state of Connecticut. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1983 and the Sylvanus Thayer Award in 1979.
Early Life
Clare Boothe Luce, born Anne Boothe in New York, was the second child of dancer Anna Clara Schneider (also known as Schneider and Anne Boothe) and William Franklin Boothe. Her father, a violinist and over-the-counter drugstore salesman, instilled in her a love for music and literature. She spent part of her childhood in Chicago, Illinois; Memphis, Tennessee; Union City, New Jersey; and New York, New York. She had an older brother, David Franklin. Her unmarried parents separated in 1912. Luce graduated from school in Tarrytown, New York, in 1919. Her initial goal was to become an actress, but she became interested in the women's suffrage movement.
Marriages and Tragedy
Luce married George Tuttle Brokaw, heir to a New York clothing store, on August 10, 1923, at the age of 20. They had one daughter, Anne Clare Brokaw (April 25, 1924 - January 11, 1944). According to Luce, Brokaw was an alcoholic, and the marriage ended in divorce in 1929. On November 23, 1935, Luce married Henry Robinson Luce, a wealthy and influential publisher of Time, Fortune, and Life magazines.
On January 11, 1944, Luce's daughter Anne Clare Brokaw, a junior at Stanford University, died in a car accident. As a result of this tragedy, Luce began studying psychotherapy and religion, joining the Roman Catholic Church in 1946 and ultimately becoming a Dame of Malta.
Political Career
From 1943 to 1947, Luce served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut. As a congresswoman, she played a key role in the creation of the Atomic Energy Commission in 1944 and began fighting against the growing threat of international communism. In 1946, she co-authored the Luce-Celler Act, which allowed Indian and Filipino immigrants to obtain U.S. citizenship, increasing the annual quota from 100 to a larger number, previously restricted due to their skin color. From 1953 to 1956, she served as the U.S. Ambassador to Italy.
Later Years and Legacy
In 1981, Luce was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan. She passed away from brain cancer on October 9, 1987, at the age of 84, in her Watergate apartment in Washington, D.C.
