See also Biography Index (J) :: Filmography Index (J) :: Discography Index (J)

American actress Jean Muir, born Jean Muir Fullarton, began her career on Broadway in 1930. Following her triumphant appearance in the 1933 play Saint Wench, she signed with Warner Bros. She made her feature-film debut in Son of a Sailor later that year. As more films followed, Muir established herself as an actress able to play her roles with a rare naturalness and sincerity. But despite her talent, she was relegated to providing the bright spot in mediocre second-string films; by the late `30s, Muir had returned to theater and only occasionally returned to Hollywood. She made her last feature-film appearance in The Constant Nymph (1943). In 1950, her career was nearly destroyed when she was accused of being a communist sympathizer in the Red Channels newsletter. As McCarthyism was in full swing, Muir was blacklisted and removed from the cast of the television show on which she was to star. The forcible banishment from acting took a terrible toll on her and Muir suffered from emotional problems and struggled with alcoholism through the decade. However, by the early `60s, Muir had recovered and was again working on Broadway and television. She was honored with a star on the Walk of Fame on February 9, 1960. In 1968, she retired from acting, moved to Columbia, MO, and became a drama teacher at Stephens College. Muir passed away at age 85 in Mesa, AZ, on July 23, 1996.