Madeleine Carroll

For her contribution to the film industry, Madeleine Carroll has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6707 Hollywood Blvd. A commemorative monument and plaques were unveiled in her birthplace, West Bromwich, to mark the centenary of her birth. Her story is also of her rare courage and dedication when at the height of her career, she “gave it all up” during World War II after her sister was killed by a German air raid, to work in the line of fire on troop trains for the Red Cross in Italy – for which she was awarded the American Medal of Freedom. She was also awarded the Legion of Honour by France, for her tireless work in fostering relations after the war between France and the USA.

After her only sister Marguerite was killed in the Blitz, she radically shifted her priorities from acting to working in field hospitals as a Red Cross nurse during World War II. She served in the 61st Station Hospital, Foggia, Italy in 1944, where many wounded American airmen flying out of air bases around Foggia were hospitalised. During the war, Madeleine Carroll donated her chateau outside Paris to more than 150 "adopted" orphans. She also arranged groups of young people in California to knit clothing for them. In a RKO-Pathe News bulletin, she was filmed at the chateau with the children and staff wearing the clothes, where she thanked people who had contributed. Read Less