- Born
- Died
- Birth nameJulie Henriette Goudeket
- Nickname
- The Joan of Arc of Equity
- Height5′ 7″ (1.70 m)
- Although Dutch-born silent screen femme fatale Jetta Goudal (pronounced Zhett-eh Goo-doll) may be pretty much forgotten today, she was, in her glorious Hollywood heyday, a star rivaling that of Gloria Swanson and fellow vamps Barbara La Marr and Nita Naldi. The daughter of a Jewish orthodox diamond cutter in Amsterdam, she began her career on stage in Europe, traveling with various theater companies. Arriving in America (New York City) following the WWI armistice (1918), Juliette (Julie) Henriette Goudeket purposely disguised her Dutch and Jewish ancestry and her age, passing herself off as "Jetta Goudal," a Parisienne born in Versailles in 1901 and the daughter of a lawyer.
She first appeared on Broadway in the drama "The Hero" in March of 1921; that September she returned with the melodrama "The Elton Charm". Eventually testing for film. She attracted immediate attention with her first two small film roles and caught the eye of legendary producer/director Cecil B. DeMille. He hired her for what turned out to be some of her (and his) greatest critical successes, including her emotional roles in The Coming of Amos (1925), The Road to Yesterday (1925), White Gold (1927) and The Forbidden Woman (1927). Unfortunately, the exotic allure and element of mystery that made Goudal so popular on-screen came with a price. She was an unrepentant theatrical "grand dame" and possessed a fierce temper well known to the film community.
Her extreme difficulty on the set led to DeMille breaking her contract, which in turn led Goudal to file a landmark lawsuit against him. She charged him with breach of contract, while he claimed her diva-like tirades over every detail of production, from costumes and scenery to mere entrances, caused a multitude of delays and severe financial setbacks for the studio. Goudal, however, won the suit--one reason being that neither DeMille nor the studio could furnish financial records to back up their claims that she cost them untold thousands of dollars--and it set a precedent regarding actors' rights vs. studios' rights. The damage to her career and reputation, however, was sealed and she never recaptured her former glory. Moreover, with the arrival of sound her very thick French accent left her with limited offers.
Goudal married art director Harold Grieve in 1930 and retired from the screen permanently three years later. Along with her husband, she went into interior design and faded from the Hollywood scene. They had no children. Plagued by health problems (heart condition) in the 1960s, she suffered a serious fall in 1973 which left her an invalid. She died in 1985 and was interred in a private room at the Great Mausoleum, Sanctuary of the Angels, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. Her devoted husband was interred next to her upon his death in 1993.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net
- SpouseHarold Grieve(October 11, 1930 - January 14, 1985) (her death)
- Her 1927 lawsuit against Cecil B. DeMille set a precedent in establishing a star's rights. She did remain friendly with DeMille even after her victory. In later years she became active in Actors Equity's fight for the unionization of film actors. She became known as the "Joan of Arc of Equity."
- Daughter of Mozes Goudeket (1860-1942), a wealthy, orthodox Jewish diamond cutter in the Jordaan neighborhood of Amsterdam, and Geertruida Warradijn (1866-1920).
- Although she was born in Holland, during her lifetime it was frequently claimed incorrectly that she was French or French-Canadian.
- Jetta's unusual given name is likely a simplified spelling of her childhood nickname of Jetje. It is pronounced ZHET-eh with the ZH pronounced like the "s" in the word pleasure.
- I am a perfectionist. Whether play or picture, while I'm in it I must give 100%. If my performance is not right, I would suffer more than anyone.
- I don't like being called a silent star. I was never silent.
- I am a stubborn girl. In another life I would have been a donkey. I can be driven just so far.
- On Mr. DeMille's request, I went to see the great Barrymore, and reported back truthfully that I found him greasy and smelly (alcohol!) and I preferred to remain with DeMille, which pleased him no end. Dolores Costello in the end played Manon and became Mrs. John Barrymore. Such is fate! I might never have become Mrs. Grieve, although I doubt I ever would have become Mrs. Barrymore.
- [on her alleged temperamentality] I came here as a foreigner: I had not been married or divorced: there was no scandal attached to my name. They had to say something about me, so the publicity departments wrote stories of their own fantasy and called me temperamental and hard to handle. They ended up believing their own creations.
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