years_active birth_place name honorific_suffix birth_date spouse image article_title birth_name occupation
1948 -- present finchley , london , england claire bloom cbe 15 february 1931 rod 1972 philip roth 1990 1995 steiger 1959 1969 1 child hillard elkins 1969 claire_bloom . jpg claire bloom
 patricia claire blume actress -lrb- stage and film -rrb-
claire bloom

patricia claire blume cbe -lrb- born 15 february 1931 -rrb- is an english film and stage actress whose career has spanned over six decades .
she is famous for leading roles in plays such as `` a streetcar named desire , '' `` a doll 's house '' , and `` long day 's journey into night '' , and has starred in nearly sixty films .
after an uprooted and unstable childhood in war-torn england , bloom studied drama , which became her passion .
she had her debut on the london stage when she was sixteen , and soon took roles in various shakespeare plays .
they included `` hamlet , '' in which she played ophelia alongside richard burton , with whom she would have a `` long and stormy '' first love affair .
for her juliet in `` romeo and juliet '' , critic kenneth tynan stated it was `` the best juliet i 've ever seen . ''
and after she starred as blanche in `` a streetcar named desire '' , its playwright , tennessee williams , was `` exultant , '' stating , `` i declare myself absolutely wild about claire bloom . ''
in 1952 , bloom was discovered by hollywood film star charlie chaplin , who had been searching for months for an actress with `` beauty , talent , and a great emotional range , '' to co-star alongside him in `` limelight '' .
it became bloom 's film debut and made her into an international film star .
during her lengthy film career , she starred alongside numerous major actors , including richard burton , laurence olivier , john gielgud , paul scofield , ralph richardson , yul brynner , george c. scott , james mason , paul newman and rod steiger , whom she would marry .
in 2010 , bloom played the role of queen mary in the british film , `` the king 's speech '' , and she currently acts in british films .
she was appointed commander of the order of the british empire -lrb- cbe -rrb- in the 2013 birthday honours for services to drama .
