Young made as many as eight movies a year, and her films in the 1940's were among the most prestigious and well-remembered of her career. It depicted a unit of female pilots who flew bomber planes from the factories to their final destinations.
Young with Orson Welles in The Stranger (1946)ĭuring World War II, Young made Ladies Courageous (1944 re-issued as Fury in the Sky), the fictionalized story of the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron. Moore gave her the name Loretta, explaining that it was the name of her favorite doll. She was signed to a contract by John McCormick, husband and manager of actress Colleen Moore, who saw the young girl's potential.
During her high-school years she was educated at Ramona Convent Secondary School. Young's first role was at the age of two or three in the silent film Sweet Kitty Bellairs. She and her sisters Polly Ann and Elizabeth Jane (better known as Sally Blane) all worked as child actresses, but of the three, Gretchen was the most successful. When she was two years old, her parents separated, and when she was three, her mother moved the family to Hollywood. At confirmation, she took the name Michaela. She was born Gretchen Young in Salt Lake City, Utah, the daughter of Gladys (née Royal) and John Earle Young.
