Gloria Swanson March 27 1899 April 4 1983 was an American actress She was one of the most prominent stars during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon especially under the direction of Cecil B DeMille made dozens of silents and was nominated for the first Acadamy Award in the Best Actress catagory In 1929 Swanson successfully transitioned to talkies with The Trespasser However personal problems and changing tastes saw her popularity wane during the 1930s when she moved into Theater and TV Today she is best known for her role as Norma Desmond a faded silent film start in the critically aclaimed film Sunset Boulevard 1950 Description above from the Wikipedia article Gloria Swanson licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia