KAY FRANCIS BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Kay Francis was born on January 13th, 1905 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with the birth name Katherine Edwina Gibbs. born to Katherine Clinton, an actress and Joseph Gibbs, a business man. 
 
Francis did not pursue a career as an actress right away, but instead worked in real estate and also was a party planner organizing event for the wealthy.  Kay soon became interested in the acting industry, first as a stage actress appearing in, "Hamlet" (1925) followed by roles in, "Crime" (1927) and "Elmer the Great" (1928).
 
Paramount took notice of her as a stage actress and offered her a screen test.  She was signed to a contract and was cast in a number of films such as, "The Cocoanuts" (1929), "Trouble in Paradise" (1932) and "One Way Passage" (1932).
 
Even though things were going well in her career, Paramount was having some financial issues and were overwhelmed with female actresses so they allowed Francis to leave her contract with them early and move over to Warner Brothers.
 
She had a huge fan base of both males and females and many admired her for her stylish wardrobe alone.  She was always seen in the most glamorous gowns and even female viewers flocked to see her films just to admire her sense of style.
 
Her career continued to blossom with such successful films as, "I Found Stella Parrish" (1935), "Confession" (1937), "The White Angel' (1936) and "My Bill" (1938).  Soon things began to decline for her as Warner Brothers felt she was too expensive to keep and other actresses such as, Bette Davis were moving in and beginning to gain the attention that was once focused all on Francis.
 
After a couple small roles and returning back to working on the stage, Kay Francis decided in 1952 it was her time to retire from the industry.  She married five times during her lifetime, however, she never had any children and no marriage lasted longer then two years.  Her last known husband was Eric Barnelow and it is unknown how long she even stayed married to him.
 
Kay Francis was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  She moved to New York and remained out of the public eye until she passed away on August 26th, 1968 from cancer.  She left the majority of her estate to help train dogs for the organization, "Seeing Eye Inc".

 
Filmography

1951 Lux Video Theatre
1950 The Prudential Family Playhouse
1946 Wife Wanted
1945 Allotment Wives
1945 Divorce
1942 Between Us Girls
1942 Always in My Heart
1941 The Feminine Touch 
1941 Charley's Aunt
1941 The Man Who Lost Himself
1941 Play Girl
1940 Little Men
1940 When the Daltons Rode
1940 It's a Date
1939 In Name Only
1939 Women in the Wind
1939 King of the Underworld
1938 Comet Over Broadway
1938 Secrets of an Actress
1938 My Bill 
1938 Women Are Like That
1937 First Lady
1937 Confession
1937 Another Dawn
1937 Stolen Holiday
1936 Give Me Your Heart 
1936 The White Angel
1935 I Found Stella Parish
1935 The Goose and the Gander
1935 Stranded 
1935 Living on Velvet 
1934 British Agent
1934 Dr. Monica
1934 Wonder Bar
1934 Mandalay 
1933 The House on 56th Street
1933 I Loved a Woman 
1933 Mary Stevens, M.D. 
1933 Storm at Daybreak 
1933 The Keyhole 
1932 Cynara
1932 Trouble in Paradise 
1932 One Way Passage 
1932 Jewel Robbery 
1932 Street of Women 
1932 Man Wanted
1932 Strangers in Love
1931 The False Madonna 
1931 Girls About Town
1931 24 Hours 
1931 Guilty Hands 
1931 Transgression 
1931 The Vice Squad 
1931 Ladies' Man
1931 Scandal Sheet 
1930 Passion Flower 
1930 The Virtuous Sin 
1930 Galas de la Paramount 
1930 Let's Go Native 
1930 Raffles 
1930 For the Defense
1930 A Notorious Affair 
1930 Paramount on Parade
1930 Street of Chance
1930 Behind the Make-Up
1929 The Marriage Playground
1929 Illusion
1929 Dangerous Curves
1929 Gentlemen of the Press
1929 The Cocoanuts