Portrait of Thelma Ritter

Birthday profile

Thelma Ritter

Thelma Ritter, American actress and singer (died 1969)

Born
February 14, 1902
Died
February 5, 1969
Zodiac sign
Aquarius
Birth year
1902

About Thelma Ritter

Thelma Ritter (February 14, 1902 – February 5, 1969) was an American character actress known for her strong New York City accent, diminutive size, and plain look; she favored working-class roles and earned a Tony Award and six Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress, more than any other actress in the category. These nominations were for her performances in All About Eve (1950), The Mating Season (1951), With a Song in My Heart (1952), Pickup on South Street (1953), Pillow Talk (1959), and Birdman of Alcatraz (1962). Her other film roles include those in Miracle on 34th Street (1947), Rear Window (1954), The Misfits (1961), and How the West Was Won (1962). Ritter shared the 1958 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for performance in the musical New Girl in Town with her co-star Gwen Verdon. She received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series nomination for Goodyear Television Playhouse in 1956. Thelma Ritter (February 14, 1902 – February 5, 1969) was an American character actress who, known for her strong New York City accent, diminutive size, and plain look, favored working-class roles. Ritter's first professional experience came with stock theater companies in New York and New England. Ritter's first movie role was in Miracle on 34th Street (1947). She earned a Tony Award and six Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress, more than any other actress in the category.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Thelma Ritter timeline

  1. Thelma Ritter (February 14, 1902 – February 5, 1969) was an American character actress who, known for her strong New York City accent, diminutive size, and plain look, favored working-class roles.
  2. Ritter's first movie role was in Miracle on 34th Street (1947).
  3. Her other film roles include those in Miracle on 34th Street (1947), Rear Window (1954), The Misfits (1961), and How the West Was Won (1962).

The world when Thelma Ritter was born

Thelma Ritter was born in 1902. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1902

  • Best-selling bookThe Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentFirst Rose Bowl game played in Pasadena, California
  • Top headlineEnd of Philippine-American War
  • Technology milestoneAir conditioning invented by Willis Carrier
  • Notable inventionAir conditioning
  • World population~1.62B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderTheodore Roosevelt
  • U.S. population79.0M

1902 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Thelma Ritter's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19022026
Population79.0M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MusicBrainz, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.