Juliette Henriette Goudeket, known professionally as Jetta Goudal, was a Dutch-born American actress who achieved significant success in Hollywood films during the silent film era.
Born in 1891 in Amsterdam, Goudal was the daughter of Geertruida Warradijn and Wolf Mozes Goudeket, a wealthy diamond cutter. She began her acting career on Broadway in 1921, using the stage name Jetta Goudal, and quickly gained recognition for her performances.
Goudal's breakthrough in film came in 1923 with the role in The Bright Shawl, and she went on to star in numerous successful films throughout the 1920s, including Salome of the Tenements and The Spaniard. Her growing fame brought her to the attention of producer/director Cecil B. DeMille, with whom she worked on several highly acclaimed films.
However, Goudal's career was marked by controversy when she sued DeMille and DeMille Pictures Corporation for breach of contract, citing numerous production delays and financial losses. In a landmark ruling, Goudal won the suit, and her reputation as a strong and audacious woman in the film industry was solidified.
Goudal continued to work in film throughout the 1920s and early 1930s, starring in films such as The Cardboard Lover and Lady of the Pavements. However, her career was eventually cut short due to her outspoken advocacy for the rights of actors and her refusal to accept the Hollywood studios' demands for a closed shop.
In 1932, Goudal made her last screen appearance in a talkie, co-starring with Will Rogers in the Fox Film Corporation production of Business and Pleasure. She then retired from acting and focused on her interior design business, which she ran with her husband, Harold Grieve, a founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Goudal is interred next to her husband in the Great Mausoleum, Sanctuary of the Angels, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. In recognition of her contributions to the motion picture industry, Jetta Goudal has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6333 Hollywood Blvd.
