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Gladys Swarthout was born Christmas Day, December 25th, 1900. The year of birth was often reported as 1904, probably in an attempt to avoid revealing her true age. This blessed event occurred in the Ozark mining town of Deepwater, Missouri into a family full of musical talent. Her sister Roma became a singing teacher in New York and two second cousins held the positions of Deans of Music, Donald Swarthout at the University of Kansas and Max Swarthout was at the University of California.

At some point around this time she married Harry Kern of Chicago, an older man who was general credit manager for the Hart-Schaffner Marx Company, but she still retained her maiden name for her singing appearances.

Gladys was often helped by those around her. While studying at the Bush Conservatory of Music in Chicago, a group of friends formed a committee and arranged for an audition with the Chicago Civic Opera Company. Much to her surprise she ended up with a contract! And at the time she didn't know a single operatic role! By her debut a few months later, she had memorized 23 parts and participated in over half of the season's operas. She sang for the Ravinia Opera Company of Chicago for three seasons. In 1929, she made her debut with the New York Metropolitan Opera Company, where she was a participant for several decades.

Her husband, Harry, passed away in 1931.

Gladys married Frank M. Chapman, Jr. in 1931 after they first met in an opera house in Naples two years earlier. Some sources say that it was in Florence, but regardless of where, the marriage was one made in heaven! He was definitely attracted to the brown haired, brown eyed beauty, who stood five feet, three and a half inches. In addition to their common interest in singing, they enjoyed collecting French furniture, many examples of which can be seen in their photographs together. "Our marriage started as a romantic adventure. We intend to keep it that way." She collected silver and they had several dogs.

Gladys Swarthout was never afraid of hard work. That shows up in the beautifully effortless effect of her singing--that and her own deep delight in singing. In the meantime, she regularly added to her laurels by her concert and recital work. Never content with her abilities, when not performing, she regularly worked eight hours a day with vocal coaches, and would spend an hour or more singing duets with her husband. She also advocated inflating balloons and blowing bubbles to strengthen the chest.

Paramount Pictures starred her in five films, including Rose of the Rancho and Romance in the Dark. She was honored with the degree of Doctor of Music, is the only woman to have sung for the entire assembled Congress of the United States, plus the Diplomatic Corps, Supreme Court and the President on the occasion of the 150th session of Congress. No lofty, proud prima donna, she was a warm, vivacious person, fundamentally a bit shy.

When she did the movie Champagne Waltz with Fred MacMurray, she sang her songs in five languages, adding French, German, Italian, and Spanish for the foreign versions of the films, making them quite popular overseas. This is reflected in the literature of the times, publicity photos and movie adds in multiple languages abound.

On the radio she was often heard on many of the most important radio programs, including those of General Motors, RCA-Magic Key, Camel Caravan, the Ford Symphony and the Prudential Family Hour. In a 1942 article, TIME Magazine reported that Gladys had earned $1,250,000 in her lifetime. Other articles discussed her compensation on her contracts with Firestone and other radio programs.

Gladys was a big fan and supported a number of American composers, one of her favorites was John Jacob Niles. She often sang several of his songs at her concerts and contributed greatly to the fame of his songs, including "I Wonder as I Wander."

No stranger to television, Gladys performed on a number of Opera shows. She did a concert in January 1951 at the Met, one of her last public singing performances. Gladys continued to do public appearances, including a visit to "What's My Line?" at about the same time in January 1951. The Railroad Hour presented "Martha" on February 22, 1954, which is the last performance I have any documentation on.

In 1956, Gladys was diagnosed with a mitral heart valve problem. After a great deal of struggle, she decided to undergo open heart surgery, something that would have been impossible just a few years earlier. She was on the operating table for six hours. She began a campaign to insure that parents knew the dangers of unsuspected rheumatic fever. In 1958, Dr. Paul Dudley White presented Gladys with the American Heart Association's very first "Heart-of-the-Year" Award, given annually to a distinguished American whose faith and courage in meeting the personal challenge of heart disease have inspired new hope for hearts. She wrote about her decision in "When the Song Left My Heart, an article in the October 1958 Everywoman's Family Circle.

As she left public life, Gladys and Frank bought a villa in Italy, La Ragnaia, near Florence, were they lived until Franks' death a few years before her own death. She died on July 7th, 1969 in Florence, Italy, at age 68 due to her life long heart condition.