Clare Boothe Luce

Clare Boothe Luce – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

Explore the extraordinary life of Clare Boothe Luce — playwright, journalist, congresswoman, diplomat, and cultural icon — and delve into her sharp wit, political influence, and enduring legacy.

Introduction

Clare Boothe Luce (March 10, 1903 – October 9, 1987) was an American luminary whose life spanned literature, politics, diplomacy, and cultural commentary. She is best known for her hit play The Women, her service in the U.S. House of Representatives, and her appointment as U.S. Ambassador to Italy. Fiercely intelligent, audacious in style, and unapologetically bold, Luce’s life remains a study in ambition, charisma, and complexity.

Early Life and Family

Clare was born Ann Clare Boothe in New York City on March 10, 1903.

She had an elder brother, David Franklin Boothe.

From childhood, Clare showed theatrical and literary proclivities: she understudied Mary Pickford on Broadway at age 10, and even appeared in a silent film, The Heart of a Waif (1915).

Youth, Education & Early Career

Though she showed early talent for performing and writing, much of her formal higher education remains less documented. After finishing school, Clare gravitated into literary and social spheres. She took on magazine work, first at Vogue and later at Vanity Fair, where she rose to managing editor in the early 1930s.

Her pivot into public life and politics was shaped by the tumult of the 1930s and 1940s, as she combined writing, reporting, and social influence.

Literary & Journalistic Career

Clare Boothe Luce’s writing career was wide-ranging:

• Her first book, Stuffed Shirts (1931), collected short stories with a satirical edge.

• She wrote the notable play The Women (1936), an all-female cast satire of social mores and marital intrigue, which became a Broadway hit and was adapted into film.

• Other plays include Kiss the Boys Goodbye (1938), Margin for Error (1939), Abide with Me (1935), Child of the Morning (1951), and Slam the Door Softly (1970).

• As a journalist, she traveled through Europe in 1939–40 for Life magazine, producing Europe in the Spring, a reportage of war-torn Europe.

• During WWII, she visited battlefronts—Europe, Africa, the China-Burma-India theater—and wrote for Life, interviewing leaders such as Chiang Kai-shek and Nehru.

Her style was marked by sharp wit, audacious aphorisms, and a willingness to challenge norms. Many of her witty one-liners became part of her public persona.

Political Career

U.S. House of Representatives

In 1942, Luce successfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut’s 4th District as a Republican. She served two terms from 1943 to 1947.

During her time in Congress:

• She was appointed to the House Military Affairs Committee—unusual for a woman of her era.

• She coined the term “globaloney” to criticize Vice President Henry Wallace’s proposals for international air travel policies.

• She co-authored the Luce–Celler Act (1946), which enabled Indians and Filipinos to immigrate to the U.S. and become citizens (with quotas).

She declined to run again in 1946.

Diplomatic Service: Ambassador to Italy

In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Luce as U.S. Ambassador to Italy—the first woman to hold a prominent U.S. ambassadorship.

As ambassador:

• She oversaw a large diplomatic apparatus: 1,150 employees, 8 consulates, and 9 information centers.

• Her principal diplomatic challenge was the Trieste Crisis (1953–54)—a territorial dispute between Italy and Yugoslavia. She played a significant role in negotiating de-escalation and settlement.

• She adopted strong anti-Communist stances, sometimes supporting covert financial aid to centrist Italian governments to counter Communist influence.

• In 1955, she threatened to boycott the Venice Film Festival if Blackboard Jungle was screened in Italy (on moral grounds).

• She suffered from arsenic poisoning due to paint dust, an incident that debilated her physically and mentally.

• She resigned in December 1956 and returned to the U.S.

She also received honors such as the Laetare Medal (1957) from the University of Notre Dame.

Later Years & Political Involvement

After her diplomatic service, Luce remained politically active:

• She supported the Eisenhower campaigns, giving many speeches and mobilizing conservative women.

• In 1959, she was nominated as U.S. Ambassador to Brazil, but resistance in the Senate—particularly from Senator Wayne Morse—along with political strife led her to decline the role.

• She served on the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB) under Presidents Nixon and Reagan.

• In 1979, she was awarded the Sylvanus Thayer Award (first woman to receive it).

• In 1983, President Reagan presented her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Personal Life & Transformative Events

Clare’s life was deeply shaped by personal successes and tragedies:

• In 1923, she married George Tuttle Brokaw, heir to a clothing fortune, and they had a daughter, Ann Clare Brokaw, born 1924.

• Clare and George divorced in 1929.

• In November 1935, she married Henry Luce, publisher of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated.

• Tragically, her only daughter Ann died in a car accident in 1944 at age 19.

• The loss deeply affected her, leading to her conversion to Roman Catholicism in 1946 (with guidance from Bishop Fulton Sheen).

• She was known for her strong social presence, elegant style, and forceful rhetorical voice.

• Her marriage with Henry Luce was complex: while they remained together until his death in 1967, accounts describe tensions, infidelities, and emotional distance.

Clare died of brain cancer in Washington, D.C. on October 9, 1987, at the age of 84.

Legacy and Influence

• Clare Boothe Luce is often celebrated as a Renaissance woman—a figure unafraid of crossing boundaries.

• Her play The Women continues to be revived and studied for its sharp commentary on gender, society, and relationships.

• She left a major endowment: the Clare Boothe Luce Program, which supports women in STEM fields, universities, and faculty positions.

• The Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute (CBLPI) continues her intellectual legacy in conservative policy.

• She is also honored in the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

• Her life offers a complex portrait: a woman of ambition, contradictions, faith, sharp intellect, and indelible style.

Famous Quotes of Clare Boothe Luce

Clare Boothe Luce was as famous for her witty epigrams as for her public roles. Here are some memorable quotes:

• “No good deed goes unpunished.”

• “Widowhood is a fringe benefit of marriage.”

• “A hospital is no place to be sick.”

• “I can stand prosperity, but adversity — that’s a test.” (Attributed)

• “If you’re a lady, you don’t say certain things. If you’re not a lady, you don’t care.” (Attributed)

• “It isn’t enough to be one in a million — you’ve got to be one every time.” (Attributed)

Her quips often blended sharp humor with truth — sometimes cutting, always provocative.

Lessons from Clare Boothe Luce

1. Forge your own path. She refused to be limited to one role — actress, writer, politician, diplomat—and moved fluidly among them.

2. Wit is a weapon. Her sharp voice carried influence, allowing her to challenge power in compelling style.

3. Transform grief into meaning. The loss of her daughter became a turning point, deepening her faith and resolve.

4. Break glass ceilings. As a woman in male-dominated fields, she claimed visibility and authority.

5. Leave a legacy of empowerment. Her funding for women in STEM and support of conservative intellectualism endure beyond her own life.

Conclusion

Clare Boothe Luce was a singular figure in 20th-century America: a writer who dared politics, a diplomat who never lost her voice, a socialite who embraced public service, and a woman whose contradictions fascinated and inspired. Her life shows how ambition, tragedy, faith, and style can combine in one bold narrative. In her words and in her actions, she challenged convention—and left a legacy that still provokes thought, admiration, and debate.

If you'd like, I can also compile a collection of her lesser-known speeches or analyze The Women in context. Which direction would you prefer?