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Siblings
David Franklin Boothe was born on March 30, 1902, but unfortunately died at the age of 46 on September 5, 1948 due to a plane crash which was lost at sea. -
Date of Birth
Anne Clare Boothe (Clare Boothe Luce) was born on March 10, 1903 in New York City, New York -
Parents
Boothe’s father William Franklin Boothe abandoned his family when she was 8 but luckily, she had her mother she could rely on. Due to being a single mother Anna Clara Schneider made numerous sacrifices so that her children would have all they needed -
Early Education
At just 10, Booth stepped in for Mary Pickford on Broadway because Booth's mother wanted her to become an actress. She also made her Broadway debut in the production of Mrs. Henry B. Harris' detective comedy 'The Dummy'. -
Education
Boothe attended cathedral schools in Garden City and Tarrytown, New York. She ended up graduating first in her class at only 16 years old. She attended St. Mary`s School in Garden City, N.Y., graduated from Miss Mason's School, "The Castle," in Tarrytown, N.Y. in 1919, and briefly attended Clare Tree Major's School of Theatre in New York City. -
Women's Suffrage Movement
Booth became interested in the women's suffrage movement and was hired by Alva Belmont to work for the National Women's Party in Washington, DC and Seneca Falls, New York. -
First Marriage
Booth marries George Tuttle Brokaw, heiress to a multi-million dollar New York clothing fortune but Boothe said Brokaw was an alcoholic, which led to their divorce. -
Children
Ann Clare Brokaw was Boothe's only daughter. Ann was born on April 25, 1924 -
Published Books
- Stuffed Shirts (1931)
- Margin for Error: Manuscript Edition (1940)
- Slam the Door Softly: Play in One Act (1970)
- Is the New Morality Destroying America? (1979)
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Abide with Me (1935)
Made in New York in 1935. Although it was not successful with audiences or critics, it deals with the subject of domestic violence and may have been influenced in part by her relationship with Brokaw. -
Second Marriage
In 1935, she married American magazine magnate Henry Luce. -
The Women (1937)
The Women is set in the world of upper-class wives in Depression-era New York City. The main character, Mary Haynes, learns from a chatty manicurist that her husband, Stephen, is having an affair with a saleswoman named Krystal. -
Death of Friend
Boothe and Frida Kahlo's close friend, Dorothy Hale committed suicide. Hale jumped out the top window of her gorgeous apartment in her favorite black dress with a little yellow rose boutonniere. -
Margin for Error (1939)
This is a satire on Nazism and was played on Broadway shortly after World War II began in Europe. The plot is a crime thriller about the murder of a German consul in the United States. -
Politcal Career
- Appointed as Ambassador to Italy where she achieved to negotiate a peaceful solution to the Trieste Crisis (1953)
- Nominated as Ambassador to Brazil but resigned after serving four days due to strong opposition (1959)
- Richard Nixon named Boothe to the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board
- First Woman Member of Congress (1942)
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Religion
Shortly after her daughter's death, Booth converted to the Roman Catholic Church and became an avid essayist and lecturer celebrating her faith after being named Martha. -
Date of Death of Daughter
Unfortunately, Boothe lost another loved one, her only child. Anne Claire Brokaw was a senior at Stanford University. Brokaw died in a car accident while only 19 years old -
Death of Husband
Henry Luce died at the age of 68 in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S -
Awards
Presidential Medal of Freedom -
Date of Death
Clare Boothe died on October 9, 1987 at the age of 84 in Washington, DC. after her long battle with cancer -
Buried
Is buried at Mepkin Abbey in South Carolina. This plantation was once owned by her and Henry Luce and donated to a community of Trappist monks. She lies in the grave next to her mother, her daughter and her husband -
The Clare-Boothe-Luce Program
The Clare-Boothe-Luce program awarded its first grant in 1989 and is dedicated to increasing women's participation in science, mathematics and engineering at all levels of higher education. -
The Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute
The program works to connect, encourage, engage and inform conservative women across the country