Pre 1920s Actresses

[northernsky]

some more...

 

[northernsky]

some more....

 

[northernsky]

Miss Lily Elsie made her name on the opening night of The Merry Widow, in London, on 8th June 1907. Overnight she had the town at her feet. On the stage Elsie seemed mysteriously beautiful with her perfect Grecian profile, enormous blue eyes, and hauntingly sad smile. Tall, cool, and lily-like, she moved with lyrical gestures in a slow-motion grace.

She was a true 'star' of Edwardian times, although the word was yet to be used in that context. Magazines produced special supplements about her, adverts featured her picture.

Although her fame and fortune came entirely from public appearances she was painfully shy. After just a few years on the stage she retired to a quite life away from the public eye. She did however leave us with hundreds of pictures, a few gramophone discs, and two films, to remember her by. [www.lily-elsie.com]

and a last pair of pictures [from www.raywoodmore.com]

 

[DosViolines]

I'm finally ready to post

Marie Doro

From wikipedia.org:

Marie Doro (May 25, 1882 - October 9, 1956) was a popular American film actress of the early silent film era of the 1910s through the early 1920s.

Marie Doro was born Marie Katherine Steward in Duncannon, Pennsylvania, USA and began her career as a theater actress before transitioning to the new medium of motion pictures in 1915 under contract with film producer Adolph Zukor. Doro's film debut for Zukor's Famous Players studio was the starring role in the now lost short film The Morals of Marcus in 1915. The following year she played the lead in the first film version of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, a role she previously played with much acclaim on stage in 1912. Throughought the 1910s, Doro remained a highly respected and popular leading lady. Unfortunately, most of her earliest screen appearances are now lost and have not been viewed for nearly one hundred years. One surviving film, Lost and Won from 1915 in which Doro convincingly portrays a young girl, shows her to have been a charming actress with a remarkably natural acting style for the era.

Marie Doro was briefly married to vaudeville and silent screen actor Elliot Dexter. The union did not last long however, and the couple soon divorced. The union spawned no offspring and Doro never remarried.

Although still a very much a popular leading lady, by the early 1920s Marie Doro became increasingly disillusioned with Hollywood and her acting career. She became reclusive and drawn to sprirtual matters and after moving to New York City even briefly studied at the Union Theological Seminary. In 1924 Doro made her last American film appearance, playing the title character in Sally Bishop and briefly relocated to Europe where she made several more films in Italy. After returning to the United States of America, Marie Doro spent the rest of her life in seclusion. In 1956 she died of heart failure in New York City, New York, allocating $90,000 dollars in her will to the Actor's Fund. Marie Doro was laid to rest at the Duncannon Cemetery in Duncannon, Perry County, Pennsylvania.

For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Marie Doro was awarded a star on the legendary Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1725 Vine Street in Hollywood, California, USA.

In The Wood Nymph (1916)


doctormacro.com
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[northernsky]

^

lovely alice joyce.

[from www.goldenageautographs.com and unsung divas of the silent screen.]

 

[Orchide]

Love these
Lily Elsie is so divine

 

[alicia753]

beautiful edwardian actress pauline chase.

[the picture is taken from www.users.waitrose.com)

she was incredibely gorgeous

 

[marqueemoon]

No offense to anyone in this thread, but I'm shocked that most of these women were ever considered beautiful. Their faces are so manly and plump by today's standards. It's amazing how much beauty ideals have changed over the decades.

 

[northernsky]

i can see what you probably mean by plump, but manly?!

asta nielsen was quite an androgynous type of woman but she really stood out in the 1910s. she was the one.

i just watched "hamlet" and i was overwhelmed by her performance as hamlet (who was a girl but was raised as a boy because her mother declared to have given birth to a boy to make the people believe there was a heir to the throne after everyone thought the king fell in a battle, and they couldn't reveal that lie after the king's return home..) asta nielsen made this film -based on such a stupid plot idea more than worth watching.

 

[marqueemoon]

i can see what you probably mean by plump, but manly?!

asta nielsen was quite an androgynous type of woman but she really stood out in the 1910s. she was the one.

i just watched "hamlet" and i was overwhelmed by her performance as hamlet (who was a girl but was raised as a boy because her mother declared to have given birth to a boy to make the people believe there was a heir to the throne after everyone thought the king fell in a battle, and they couldn't reveal that lie after the king's return home..) asta nielsen made this film -based on such a stupid plot idea more than worth watching.

Maybe matronly would be a better word?

 

[Josephine]

Sarah Bernhardt - nicknamed the divine sarah

Born: 25 October 1844
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: 26 March 1923
Best Known As: Legendary French star of stage and screen
Name at birth: Henriette-Rosine Bernhard

French stage star Sarah Bernhardt was probably the most famous actress of the 19th century. She studied drama in Paris and began performing on the stage in the early 1860s. In less than a decade she became a star known for her melodramatic performances in classical plays such as Ruy Blas (1872) and Phedre (1874). Bernhardt began touring internationally in 1880 and was already a legend by the time she got involved in the movies. Although her career was centered on the stage, her roles in the early days of cinema helped bring credibility to the new medium. Her most famous films are 1911's La Dame aux Camelias (better known to U.S. audiences as Camille) and 1912's Queen Elizabeth, both critical and popular successes. In 1905 she injured her right leg and in 1915 the leg was amputated, but Bernhardt continued to tour and perform. She died in 1923 shortly after beginning the filming of La Voyante.
(answers.com)

(pics from posterclassics,historylink,jssgallery,answers)

 

[Orchide]

I adore Sarah Bernhardt
I have a fab bio on her...Madame Sarah.

 

[northernsky]

gorgeous pictures of sarah bernhardt thanks josephine.

her less eccentric but equally great counterpart from italy: eleonora duse.

[from www.cardiologiapertutti.org]

 

[cheiby11]

Alphonse Mucha's poster of Sarah (I hope so)

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[northernsky]

i love that! thanks for posting it. i never heard of that painter before.. i have to do a little research on him i think.

i found some more of his pictures of sarah bernhardt on ebay.

 

[northernsky]

and i just learned that she was the person behind the actress la berma in marcel proust's recherche.

 

[Josephine]

gorgeous posters

 

[northernsky]

maude fealy.

[from www.maudefealy.vispa.com]

i love hoods so much. someone once told me i had the perfect face for hoods, and i just hope that it wasn't meant as an insult.

 

[cheiby11]

really nice pic

 

[cheiby11]

I adore Alphonse Mucha I have his posters on the wall of my bedroom

I art deco