This collection contains the papers of American actor Irene Dunne (1898-1990) and chiefly consists of press clippings, photographs and film stills, and business files related to her movie career. Additional materials include small files of awards, correspondence, and event programs, two music books, and four scripts (A Guy Named Joe; How the West was Won; I Remember Mama; and The White Cliffs of Dover). There are also some scrapbooks/commemorative albums including ones for the christening of the S.S. Carole Lombard in 1944 (Box 16, Volume 2); a New Jersey war bond luncheon and rally in 1942 (Box 16, Volume 3); and an American Red Cross album, 1949 (Box 16, Volume 4).

The press clippings consist of files of loose newspaper clippings and well as forty-six 11 x 17" volumes with pasted clippings of articles that mention or feature Dunne, dating from 1935 to 1951. While most of the clippings relate to her celebrity as a movie star, the last volume (Box 11, Volume 7) deals with her work with St. John's Hospital.

There is little in the collection that reflects Dunne's personal life or family.