Claire Windsor (April 14, 1892 – October 24, 1972) was a notable American film actress of the silent screen era.

Early life

Windsor was born Clara Viola Cronk (nicknamed "Ola") in 1892 to George Edwin and Rosella R. Fearing Cronk in Marvin, Phillips County, Kansas of Scandinavian heritage. Her parents later moved to Cawker City, Kansas when she was a small child. She attended Washburn College in Topeka, Kansas from 1906 to 1907. An early marriage to a man named David Willis Bowes, took place on May 13, 1914 in Denver, Colorado, resulted in the birth of a son, David William Bowes, born on September 9, 1916, and the couple soon went their separate ways. Bowes officially filed for divorce on September 14, 1920. Claire moved to Seattle, Washington with her parents where she entered and won a beauty contest. On the advice of a friend, Claire moved to California in hopes of making a career as an actress in the new medium of motion pictures. Initially receiving only bit parts, she was soon spotted by Lois Weber, a highly regarded and influential director and producer of silent films for Paramount Pictures. Weber immediately signed Windsor to a contract. Windsor costarred with Louis Calhern in Weber's The Blot (1921).

Career climb

Claire Windsor's film debut was in the 1920 release To Please One Woman which was only a modest success. To promote the nascent starlet, Paramount Pictures often paired Windsor with the newly divorced legendary actor Charlie Chaplin in publicity photographs, leading the tabloid press to give mention to the young actress in print. The publicity paid off; in 1922 the newly formed Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers (WAMPAS) began their annual WAMPAS Baby Stars awards and named Claire Windsor, along with Bessie Love, Lila Lee, Mary Philbin and Colleen Moore, as the year's most promising starlets. That same year Claire signed a contract with Goldwyn Pictures Corporation.

In 1923, the former Ola Cronk officially began using the more matinee-friendly Claire Windsor as a moniker. Throughout the 1920s, Windsor established herself as highly regarded leading lady in film. As her career progressed, she was often typecast as the "upscale society girl", often playing the part of a princess, or monied socialite. Critics lauded her elegant fashion sense, and Windsor became a noted trend-setter of 1920s fashion.

In 1924, Windsor was one of the top stars at the newly formed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio. Later, at Tiffany Pictures, Souls for Sables (1925), co-starring Eugene O'Brien, was a box-office hit for Windsor.

Personal life and "talkies"

Windsor was frequently romantically linked to her leading male co-stars. She had a well-publicized affair with actor Charles "Buddy" Rogers, and in 1925 married matinee idol Bert Lytell. The couple divorced in 1927, however. Windsor never remarried, but a few notable love affairs with men caused minor scandals in the press, including once being sued by the young wife of a Boston broker in an "Alienation of Affection" lawsuit, in which the broker's wife contended that Windsor had "stolen her husband".

By the late 1920s, Claire Windsor (like so many of her acting peers) found it difficult to move into talkies. She made several talkies throughout the 1930s but could never recapture the success of her earlier years as a silent screen actress. She had a brief stint on a road tour with Al Jolson in the production of The Wonder Bar and would occasionally take stage parts. In her later years, Windsor devoted herself to painting

On April 12, 1943, Windsor officially changed her name to Claire Windsor, and her son took the name of William Willis Windsor.

Claire Windsor died of a heart attack in 1972 at the age of 80 in Los Angeles, California. She was laid to rest at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park cemetery in Glendale, California.

For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Claire Windsor was given a star on the legendary Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Blvd., in Hollywood, California, U.S..