Luce, Clare Boothe, 1903–87, American playwright and diplomat, whose name originally was Anne Clare Boothe, b. New York City. Witty, outspoken, glamorous, and an articulate political conservative, Luce began her career writing for Vogue and Vanity Fair in 1930, soon becoming managing editor of the latter magazine. She married publisher Henry Luce in 1935, and the following year her play The Women, satirizing wealthy New York matrons, opened to great success on Broadway. Her other hit plays included Kiss the Boys Goodbye (1938) and Margin for Error (1939). She served two terms in the House of Representatives (1943–47) as a Republican from Connecticut, and during the Eisenhower administration was ambassador (1953–56) to Italy. Her other writings include Stuffed Shirts (1933) and Europe in the Spring (1940).
See biographies by J. Lyons (1989) and S. J. Morris (2 vol., 2014).
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