Moved from Paris to New York after father suffered financial reverses in the banking business

Made stage debut at the Provincetown Playhouse in "The Widow's Veil", written by her speech teacher, Alice Rossetter

Made Broadway stage debut in "The Wild Westcotts"

Replaced in leading role of Frederick Lonsdale's "The Fake"

Traveled to Paris; returned to New York to comply with five-year contract she had recently signed with producer Al Woods

Enjoyed major Broadway success as the female lead in "The Barker"

Film acting debut in the silent, "For the Love of Mike"

Film contract with First National aborted after failure of first film

Marriage to Norman Foster (in 1927) revealed by New York columnist

Journeyed with Foster to Paris to recreate their stage roles in "The Barker"

Signed film contract with Paramount which enabled her to continue stage career

Played leading roles in two unsuccessful plays by noted playwrights Eugene O'Neill ("Dynamo") and Elmer Rice ("See Naples and Die", her last stage appearance for over 20 years)

Made talking film debut in second film, "The Hole in the Wall"

Position in film industry elevated by success of Ernst Lubitsch's popular "The Smiling Lieutenant"

Briefly went off salary for refusing bland roles

Appeared in largest film to date: as Poppaea in Cecil B. DeMille's epic, "The Sign of the Cross"

Renegotiated contract with Paramount; allowed to appear in films at other studios

Enjoyed landmark career success in Frank Capra's popular and acclaimed Oscar-winner, "It Happened One Night" while on loan to Columbia

Signed new two-year contract with Paramount; earned $5000 per week

Co-starred opposite Fred MacMurray for the first of seven films together (in his first substantial lead) in the popular "The Gilded Lily"

Was named best-dressed actress in Hollywood

Made motion picture exhibitors poll of top ten boxoffice stars: 6th place in 1935 and 8th place in 1936

Plans to star as Joan of Arc in a film directed by Anatole Litvak fell through

Negotiated new contract with Paramount which called for seven films at $150,000 per film

Was the sixth top money-making woman in America with an income of $301,944 ($50,000 less than she had made the year before, when she placed fourteenth)

Starred in first color film, "Drums Along the Mohawk", directed by John Ford and co-starring Henry Fonda

Joined with Ronald Colman, Charles Boyer, Irene Dunne, Lewis Milestone and Anatole Litvak to form producing unit at Twentieth-Century Fox; Colbert starred in Fox film, "Remember the Day"

Played a mother with teen-aged daughters for the first time in David O. Selznick's acclaimed homefront saga, "Since You Went Away"

Left Paramount Pictures after having spent most of her starring career there; last film under contract, "Practically Yours"

Made motion picture exhibitor's poll of top ten box office stars; placed 9th

Replaced by Katharine Hepburn in leading role in "State of the Union" after disagreements with director Frank Capra

Replaced in leading role in "All About Eve" by Bette Davis after suffering severe back injury

Starred in last screen romantic comedy, "Let's Make It Legal"

Made TV debut on "The Jack Benny Show"

Announcments made that she would star in a TV series, "Leave It to Lizabeth"; filmed pilot, but backed out of series commitment

Starred opposite Noel Coward in successful stage presentation of "Island Fling/South Sea Bubble"

Traveled to England to star in "Outpost in Malaya"

Worked in Europe in film and theater; made fewer films, but starred in two in France

Made pact with CBS to star in five teleplays after successful appearance in "The Royal Family of Broadway"

Last starring role in an American feature film, "Texas Lady"

Replaced Margaret Sullavan in the female lead of the Broadway play, "Janus"

Returned to Broadway to originate a role after 27 years to star opposite Charles Boyer in the popular sex farce, "The Marriage Go-Round"

Last major acting role on TV for 25 years, in "The Bells of St. Mary's"

Hosted monthly CBS afternoon information series, "The Women"

One-shot return to films: played Troy Donahue's mother in the popular soap opera, "Parrish"

Appeared in Maxwell House Coffee TV commercials and billboard advertisements

Made last stage appearance for almost a decade, opposite Brian Ahearne in "Diplomatic Relations"

Announced that she was going to write a book entitled "How to Run a House" for her friend's Bennett Cerf's Random House Press; book did not materialize

Made rare public appearance at the "Fabulous Forties" nostalgia night at Manhattan's Roseland

Returned to the stage to appear in "A Community of Two" in Philadelphia

Returned to Broadway to star opposite Rex Harrison in "The Kingfisher"

Acted on Broadway in "A Talent for Murder"

Appeared on the American Film Institute's televised salute to Frank Capra

Received tribute for lifetime achievement from the Film Society of Lincoln Center

A building at the old Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York (where she had made her first films for Paramount) was renamed in her honor

Reunited in London and on Broadway with Rex Harrison in revival of Frederick Lonsdale's drawing-room comedy, "Aren't We All?"

Returned to TV to star opposite Ann-Margret in two-part film, "The Two Mrs. Grenvilles"

Career celebrated with ceremony and retrospective at New York University