Eisenhower named her an alternate delegate to the U.N. General Assembly in 1959.

Was discovered for films while appearing in the first national touring company of "Show Boat" in 1929. She played and sang the role of Magnolia, and repeated her performance in the Show Boat (1936).

Her tombstone mistakenly gives her date of birth as 1901 rather than 1898.

After being nominated 5 times for the Best Actress Oscar and never winning, it was hoped by many that she would receive an honorary award after her retirement but the Academy (for reasons best known to itself) failed to present one.

Was offered the role of Aunt Alicia in Vincente Minnelli's Gigi (1958), but she declined, preferring to stay in retirement.

Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of fame in the early sixties. It is located at 6440 Hollywood Boulevard.

In 1965 she was the first woman elected to Technicolor's board of directors.

In 1968 was named one of Colorado's Women of achievement.

Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith. Pg. 145-146. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387

Christened the Mark Twain stern-wheel riverboat at Disneyland, July 17, 1955.

During her marriage to Dr. Frank Griffin, Irene adopted a child, Mary Frances.

Irene claimed that always getting enough sleep kept her looking young. Her studio contracts allowed her to start work as late as 10 A.M. and leave by 6 P.M.

Her only color production was Life with Father (1947) in which she co-starred with William Powell.

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 261-263. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999.

After her death, her Holmby Hills home was listed for sale for $6.9 million. One of the realtors was William Bakewell who had acted with Irene in Back Street (1932).

She was one of the most active supporters of the Republican Party in Hollywood, and campaigned for Richard Nixon in 1960. She later supported Ronald Reagan's two runs for Governor of California and his two presidential campaigns.