Clare Boothe Luce*
Class of 1974
- Playwright, Actress, Former Congresswoman, Former Ambassador & Lecturer
Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, 'She doesn't have what it takes.' They will say, 'Women don't have what it takes.'
Clare Booth Luce was born in New York City in 1903, and spent her childhood in relative poverty. Her parents were not married and separated in 1912.
With the aid of friends and scholarships, Luce attended private schools, graduating first in her class. After graduation, she took a job in a paper factory for $18 a week. With this money, she studied typing and shorthand. She went to work as an editorial assistant for Vogue in 1930. A year later, she joined Vanity Fairas an associate editor. In 1935, Luce began writing plays, including The Women, Kiss the Boys Goodbye, and Margin of Error.
During World War II, Luce traveled to Africa, India, China, and Burma for Life magazine. She served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1952, President Dwight Eisenhower appointed Luce ambassador to Italy. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.