Betty Grable, Jayne Mansfield, Clara Bow, Norma Shearer, Bette Davis, Linda Darnell, Marion Davies, Janet Gaynor, Lana Turner, Jean Harlow, Rita Hayworth, Carole Lombard, Marilyn Monroe, Paulette Goddard, Jeanette MacDonald, and MORE of Hollywood's greatest actresses
Before she became a famous movie star Marilyn Monroe was a teenage model with big dreams. She was discovered in 1945 while working in a factory. It's easy to see why she became one of the most photographed women in the world.
Mary Pickford
was born Gladys Louise Smith on April 8, 1892, in Toronto, Canada. After her father's death Mary, her brother Jack, and sister Lottie began working on the stage to support the family. D.W. Griffith discovered her and soon she was appearing in silent films. At just five feet tall with long curls she was often cast as a child. She married Owen Moore, an actor, in 1911 but they separated shorty after. Mary starred in a
string of hit movies including Stella Maris, Pollyanna, and My Best
Girl. She became the highest paid actress in Hollywood and was
nicknamed "America's Sweetheart". Mary fell in love with dashing actor Douglas Fairbanks and they were married in 1920. The couple lived in a lavish Beverly Hills mansion called "Pickfair". Mary
joined Douglas, Charlie Chaplin, and D.W. Griffith to form United
Artists Studios. She was also a founding member of the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences.
In 1929 she starred in Coquette,
her first sound film, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Tired of making movies she decided to retire from acting.
Her sixteen year marriage to Douglas ended in 1936 and a year later she married actor
Charles "Buddy" Rogers (who was rumored to be gay). Mary was unable to have children so she
and Charles adopted a son and a daughter. She was offered
the role of Norma Desmond in the 1950 drama Sunset Boulevard but turned it down. Mary devoted most of her time to charity work and published her autobiography, Sunshine And Shadow. As she grew older she developed a drinking problem and rarely made public appearances.
She was presented with an honorary Oscar at the 1976 Academy Awards.
Mary died on May 29, 1979 from a cerebral hemorrhage. She was cremated
and her ashes are buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale,
California.
~ Original biography by Elizabeth Ann 2013
With Eleanor Roosevelt
"I never liked one of my pictures in its entirety." ~ Mary
One of her first magazine covers
1948 ~ Photographed by Ed Coonenwerth
