Actresses

Dorothy Kathleen Gulliver (September 6, 1908-May 23, 1997) was an early silent film star, and one of the few to make a successful transition with the advent of "talkies", when films began using sound. She was born in Utah. Named as a 1928 "WAMPAS Baby Star", Gulliver was part of The Collegians silent series of the late 1920s, and also did some silent serials with William Desmond, Jack Hoxie and Hoot Gibson. With the beginning of "talkies", she became a popular heroine in 1930s "cliffhangers", including The Galloping Ghost, Phantom of the West, The Shadow of the Eagle, The Last Frontier, and the 1936 Custers Last Stand. Her costars were often Rex Lease, Tim McCoy, Jack Ho…

Martine Carol (16 May 1920 – 6 February 1967) was a French film actress. Born Marie-Louise Jeanne Nicolle Mourer in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, (France), she studied acting under René Simon (1898-1966), making her stage debut in 1940 and her first motion picture in 1943. One of the most beautiful women in film, she was frequently cast as an elegant blonde seductress. During the late 1940s and early 1950s she was the leading sex symbol and a top box office draw of french cinema. One of her most famous roles was as the title character in Lola Montès (1955), directed by Max Ophüls, in a role which necessitated dark hair. Despite her fame and fortune, Martine Carol's persona…

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Mary Duncan (August 13, 1895 – May 9, 1993) was an American actress. She met and married Stephen "Laddie" Sanford, who was international polo player as well as director of the Bigelow-Sanford Carpet Company, in 1933, after which she retired from films. They remained married until his death in 1977. She spent much of her remaining years working with several major charities. Her last film appearance was with Katharine Hepburn in the 1933 film Morning Glory. She kept herself active by playing golf twice a week and swimming every morning before breakfast, which helped her maintain her size 8 figure. As an actress, she had followed the ministrations of Sylvia of Hollywood t…

Julia Faye (September 24, 1893 – April 6, 1966) was a motion picture actress from Richmond, Virginia. Career overview Faye had resided in St. Louis, Missouri prior to coming to Hollywood in 1916, to visit friends. She visited one of the film studios and was introduced to Christy Cabanne. The two reminisced about St. Louis and discovered that they had lived next door to one another there. Cabanne persuaded Faye's reluctant mother to allow her to be in motion pictures. She appeared in more Cecil B. DeMille movies than any other actress. She appeared in many of his silents and in every one of his movies from 1939's Union Pacific on. She was DeMille's mistress off-screen f…

Wanda Hawley (a.k.a. Wanda Petit), (July 30, 1895 – March 18, 1963) was a veteran of the silent screen films era. She entered the theatrical profession with an amateur group in Seattle, and later toured the U.S. and Canada as a singer. She co-starred with Rudolph Valentino in the 1922's The Young Rajah, and rose to stardom in a number of Cecil B. DeMille and director Sam Wood's films. Life and career Hawley was born in Scranton, Pa., but together with her family moved to Seattle, Washington, when she was a child. She received her education in Seattle. Hawley made her screen debut with the William Fox Company and after playing with them for eight months joined time Lask…

Ena Gregory (18 April 1906 - 13 June 1993) was an Australian motion picture actress from Sydney, Australia. Movie actress In Australia Gregory was known as the child wonder of the vaudeville stage. Her first screen experience came at the age of four when she was shown in her mother's arms in a crowd which was welcoming British dignitaries. She was first signed in Hollywood for ingenue (stock character) roles by Universal Pictures in 1921. She also worked for Hal Roach Studios and First National Pictures. In all she spent five years in comic roles before going into dramatic work. By 1924 she was the leading lady of the Independent Pictures Corporation. She was a Wampas …

Louise Dresser (October 5, 1878 – April 24, 1965) was an American actress. Born Louise Josephine Kerlin in Evansville, Indiana, her first film was The Glory of Clementina (1922), and her first starring role was in The City that Never Sleeps (1924). She took her professional last name as a tribute to her good friend, songwriter Paul Dresser. Dresser, the elder brother of novelist Theodore Dreiser, was a popular songwriter of the turn of the 20th century. During the first presentations of the Academy Awards in 1929 she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for A Ship Comes In. She portrayed Empress Elizabeth in Paramount Pictures's The Scarlet Empress (193…

Virginia Brown Faire (June 26, 1904 – June 30, 1980) was an American silent-film actress, appearing in mainly dramatic films and westerns. Born as Virginia Labuna in Brooklyn, New York, she was brought to Hollywood in 1919 after being the winner of the Motion Picture Classic magazine's "Fame and Fortune" contest. She was educated in the public, elementary and high schools of Brooklyn. It was not long after she turned 15 years old that she presented herself at the Metro studio where she was almost immediately put on. Shortly after she appeared in pictures for Fox, she was with Universal. Between 1920 and 1935, she appeared in some 75 films. Her first film credit was the…

Dorothy Devore (June 22, 1899 {though some sources say 1901} - September 10, 1976) was a leading and popular American silent-film actor and comedian in her time. Early life Born Alma Inez Williams in Fort Worth, Texas, Dorothy Devore's family soon moved to Los Angeles when she was still a young girl. It was in Los Angeles where Dorothy completed her education and then joined a musical comedy company, with which she appeared for one year. She then went to Lyons and Moran comedies at Universal Pictures. It was at Universal where she was "discovered" by director/producer Al Christie, one of the most famous comedic moviemakers of the era. Dorothy began playing in small par…

Kitty Gordon (22 April 1878 - 26 May 1974) was an actress both on stage and in silent film. Her first professional stage appearance was at the Princes Theatre in Bristol in 1901 in the touring production of San Toy. She married theatre manager Michael Levenston in 1903 but he died less than four months later. Kitty continued with her stage work appearing in the comic opera The Duchess of Dantzic in 1903 and the operetta Véronique in 1904. In October of that year she married Harry Beresford. They had one child, Vera, who became an actress. In 1909 she moved to New York with her husband where she became a regular on the New York stage. She made her first film appearanc…

Brenda is Brazilian actress and model. She became famous for her role of Rani in "Caminhos das Indias".

Hope Hampton (Mae Elizabeth Hampton) (19 February 1897 - 23 January 1982) was an American silent motion picture actress, who was noted for her seemingly effortless incarnation of siren and flapper types in silent-picture roles during the 1920s. Early life Texas-born, Philadelphia-bred beauty-contest winner Hampton, was discovered by U.S. silent cinema pioneer Jules Brulatour while working as an extra for director Maurice Tourneur. She made her screen debut in 1920's A Modern Salome, and went on to feature prominently in several Brulatour-financed films. In 1923, Hampton wed her manager Brulatour, and they remained married until his death in 1946. Later life After ret…

Carol Dempster (December 9, 1901 - February 1, 1991) was an American film actress of the silent film era. Biography Born in Duluth, Minnesota, Dempster got her start in films as a protégé of legendary film director D.W. Griffith alongside other Griffith actresses of the mid-1910s Lillian and Dorothy Gish and Mae Marsh. Griffith gave Dempster her first role at age 15 in his colossal 1916 all-star cast Intolerance playing one of the Babylonian harem girls alongside another teenaged newcomer, Mildred Harris. Dempster would eventually become one of Griffiths "favorites" and cast her in nearly every one of his films throughout the 1920s, allegedly to the jealous irritation o…

Pauline Garon (September 9, 1900 – August 30, 1965) was a Canadian-born American silent film, feature film and stage actress. Early life Born in Montreal, Quebec as Marie Pauline Garon, Garon was the daughter of Pierre and Victoria Garon. Pierre was of French descent and Victoria's heritage was Irish. Her father first worked for the Canadian postal department, then worked at an insurance agency, where he managed to gain enough money to send his youngest child (out of eleven children) to the Couvent Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart Convent) in Montreal, one of the most prestigious schools in the city. Garon attended this school for seven years. She was the first graduate of the…

Elaine Hammerstein (June 16, 1897 – August 13, 1948) was an American silent film and stage actress. Musical lineage Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she was the daughter of opera producer Arthur Hammerstein and the granddaughter of Oscar Hammerstein. Her father once remarked he was more interested in his daughter's career than in his own. Hammerstein was Arthur's daughter by his first marriage, to Jean Allison Hammerstein. When the couple divorced the mother did not ask for permananent custody of Elaine. Rather she requested that her daughter be allowed to choose for herself when she reached the age of maturity. Theater Hammerstein graduated from Bryn Mawr College…

Talia Shire (born April 25, 1946) is an American actress most known for her roles as Connie Corleone in The Godfather films and Adrian Balboa in Rocky series (I to V). Personal life Shire was born Talia Rose Coppola in Lake Success, New York, the daughter of Italia and arranger/composer Carmine Coppola. Talia is the sister of director and producer Francis Ford Coppola and academic August Coppola, the aunt of actor Nicolas Cage and director Sofia Coppola, and the niece of composer and conductor Anton Coppola. She was married to composer David Shire, with whom she had a son, Matthew Orlando Shire. She has two other sons, actors/musicians Jason Schwartzman and Robert Carmi…

June Collyer (August 19, 1906 – March 16, 1968) was an American film actress of the 1920s and 1930s. Early life and career Born Dorothea Heermance in New York City, Collyer chose to use her mother's maiden name when she decided to pursue acting. A society girl chosen by Allan Dwan, she had her first starring role in 1927 when she starred in East Side, West Side. She did a total of eleven films during the silent film era, and unlike many of that period she made a successful transition to sound movies. In 1928 she was one of thirteen girls selected as "WAMPAS Baby Stars", an honor her future sister-in-law Marian Shockley would also receive later on in 1932. In 1930 Coll…

Helene Costello (June 21, 1906 - January 26, 1957) was an American motion picture actress, most notably of the silent film era. Lou Costello took his professional name from the actress. Biography Born in New York City, New York, USA she was the daughter of the prominent stage and pioneering film actor Maurice Costello and his actress wife Mae Costello and the younger sister of actress Dolores Costello. Helene first appeared onscreen (opposite her father) in the 1909 film adaptation of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. She would continue acting in films throughout the 1910s as a child actor and reach her peak of public popularity in the 1920s, although never quite rivalling…

Marguerite De La Motte (June 22, 1902 – March 10, 1950) was an American film actress, most notably of the silent film era. Career Born in Duluth, Minnesota, De La Motte began her entertainment career studying ballet under Anna Pavlova. In 1919 she became the dance star of Sid Grauman on the stage of his theater. In 1918, at the age of 16, she made her screen debut in the Douglas Fairbanks, Sr directed romantic comedy film Arizona. That same year she lost both of her parents in an automobile accident and film producer J.L. Frothingham assumed guardianship of her and her younger sister. De La Motte spent the 1920s appearing in numerous films, often cast by Douglas Fairba…

Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907 – November 28, 1976) was an American actress of stage and screen, perhaps best known for her role as a fast-talking newspaper reporter in the Howard Hawks screwball comedy His Girl Friday, as well as the role of Mame Dennis in the film Auntie Mame. She won all 5 Golden Globes for which she was nominated, and was tied with Meryl Streep for wins until 2007 when Streep was awarded a sixth. Russell won a Tony Award in 1953 for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Ruth in the Broadway show Wonderful Town. Russell was known for playing character roles, exceptionally wealthy, dignified ladylike women. She had a wide car…

Constance Collier (22 January 1878 – 25 April 1955) was a British-born American film actress and acting coach. Life and career Born Laura Constance Hardie, in Windsor, Berkshire, Collier made her stage debut at the age of 3, when she played Fairy Peasblossom in A Midsummer's Night Dream. In 1893, at the age of 15, she joined the Gaiety Girls, the famous dance troupe based at the Gaiety Theatre in London. She was a very beautiful woman and soon became so tall that she towered over all the other dancers. In addition, she had an enormous personality and considerable determination. She naturally attracted considerable attention. On 27 December 1906, Beerbohm Tree's extravag…

Shannon Day was born on August 5, 1896 in New York City. Shannon appeared in her first motion picture in 1921 in FORBIDDEN FRUIT. Numerous films followed in both bit parts and some with a little more meat to them. She was never to establish herself among the big names of the time however. Shannon retired from films after she appeared in HOTEL VARIETY in 1933. On February 24, 1977, Shannon died in the city of her birth at the age of 80. She had been in a total of 29 motion pictures

Pia Zadora (born Pia Alfreda Schipani, May 4, 1954) is an American actress and singer. After working as a child actress on Broadway, in regional theater, and in the film Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964), she came to national attention in 1981 when, following her starring role in the critically mauled Butterfly, she won a Golden Globe Award as New Star of the Year. When her film career failed to take off, she became a singer of popular standards and made several successful albums backed by a symphonic orchestra; as a singer she earned the respect of critics who had previously written her off. Early life Zadora was born Pia Alfreda Schipani in Hoboken, New Jersey…

Marceline Day (April 24, 1908 – February 16, 2000) was an American motion picture actress whose career began as a child in the 1910s and ended in the 1930s. Born Marceline Newlin in Colorado Springs, Colorado and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, she was the younger sister of film actress Alice Day. Marceline Day began her film career after her sister, Alice Day, became a featured actress as a Mack Sennett "Bathing Beauty" in one and two-reel comedies for Keystone Studios. Day made her first film appearance alongside her sister in the 1924 Sennett comedy Picking Peaches before being cast in a string of comedy shorts opposite actor Harry Langdon and a stint in early Hollyw…