Margaret Shelby was a silent film actress and the older sister of Mary Miles Minter  She was born Alma Margaret Reilly on June 16, 1900 in San Antonio, Texas. When she was a child her parents divorced. Her mother, Charlotte Selby, was a domineering woman who pushed Margaret and her younger sister Mary Miles Minter to go into show business. At the age of twelve made her film debut in the silent short Billie. Then she had roles in the films Faith, Her Country's Call, and Wives and Other Wives. Her performances got good reviews but she never became as successful as her sister Mary. In 1922 ..read more

Lynn Browning was a 1930s starlet whose career ended after a car accident She was born Opal Lynn Garrett in 1909 in Marionville, Missouri. Her father, Albert Garrett, owned a grocery store. When she was a teenager she started modeling clothes in Kansas City. Lynn decided to moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. In 1932 she won a beauty contest sponsored by Paramount Pictures. Her prize was a bit part in the film Sinners In The Sun. She landed small roles in more than a dozen films including Footlight Parade, Gold Diggers Of 1933, and 42nd Street. Her sister, Sheila Garrett, also ..read more

Rochelle Hudson was popular 1930s starlet who usually played an ingenue  She was born Rochelle Elizabeth Hudson on March 6, 1916, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma When she was a child she studied acting, dancing, and singing. Her ambitious mother, Lenora Hudson, was determined to make her a star. They moved to Los Angeles, California in 1929. Soon after the fourteen year old was offered a contract at RKO studios. Her mother lied about her age claiming she was actually sixteen. Rochelle's first job was as the voice of Honey in the Bosko cartoon series. In 1931 she was chosen to be a Wampas Bab ..read more

Mary Julian was a popular Ziegfeld Follies star who tragically died from a drug overdose She was born Mary Julia Warnock in Independence, Missouri on May 15, 1896. Her father, Robert Warnock, was a horticulturist and her mother, Minnie, worked as a waitress. They divorced when she was a teenager. Mary attended the University of Kansas and studied psychology at the University of Chicago. She married businessman Charles Grabske on August 25,1915. The couple divorced in 1919. Soon after she married Harry Lieberman, a wealthy advertising man, and moved to New York City. In 1921 she had an ope ..read more

Carol Tevis was a beautiful 1930s starlet who became known for her baby voice She was born Carrie Rutledge on March 6, 1907 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When she was a child her family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. Sadly her mother died from cancer in 1914. At the age of nineteen she married William Tevis, a salesman. Their daughter, Nancy Lou, was born in 1927. The following year she divorced William and moved to Los Angeles, California. Carol started her career singing and doing impressions on the radio. Her high pitched baby voice quickly became her trademark. Walt Disney heard her on the ..read more

  Miroslava Stern was a beautiful actress who committed suicide after getting her heart broken She was born Miroslava Stanclová on February 26, 1926 in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Sadly her father died when she was a child. During World War 2 she and her Jewish family were interred in a concentration camp for a brief time. Eventually they were released and moved to Mexico in 1941. The following year she was sent to boarding school in New York City. Miroslava fell in love with an American soldier who was tragically killed. She was so upset that she attempted suicide. After winning a beauty co ..read more

Betty Compson was one of Hollywood's most beautiful and successful silent stars She was born Eleanor Luicime Compson on March 19, 1897, in Beaver, Utah. Sadly her father died when she was a child. Betty dropped out of high school and got a job as a violinist at a local theater. While performing in vaudeville she was offered a contract with Al Christie's studio. In 1915 she made her film debut in Wanted, A Leading Lady. Over the next four years she appeared in more than forty shorts including Mingling Spirits, He's A Devil, and Down By The Sea. Her big break came in 1919 when she was cast ..read more

Elinor Troy was a statuesque dancer and showgirl who died tragically young She was born Elinor A. Edmonston on September 15, 1916 in Washington D.C. Her father, Eric Edmonston, worked on the street railway. When she was fourteen she dropped out of high school and moved to New York City to pursue a dancing career. Flo Ziegfeld discovered her and put her in the Ziegfeld Follies. Then she appeared in Earl Carroll's Vanities and became Billy Rose's first "Glamazon." The statuesque showgirl was six feet, two inches tall with raven hair and blue eyes. On February 21, 1934 she married forty-two ..read more

Eleanor Counts was a beautiful 1930s starlet who died tragically young She was born Maude Eleanor Counts in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1912. Sadly her father, James B. Counts, died when she was just five years old. At the age of sixteen she married twenty-two year old Robert Gauldin. The couple had two children - Robert Jr. and Iris. They split up in 1932 but remained legally married until 1945. Eleanor worked in a shoe store and started acting with a local theater troupe. In 1937 she moved to Hollywood and got a job as a cigarette girl in a nightclub. To get herself noticed she picketed outsi ..read more

Lottie Lyell was a silent film actress who became known as Australia's first movie star She was born Lottie Edith Cox on February 23, 1890 in Sydney, Australia. At the age of seventeen she began her acting career on the stage. Lottie toured the country performing with several theater companies. In 1911 she made her film debut in Captain Midnight, The Bush King. That same year had a leading role in The Romantic Story Of Margaret Catchpole. It became a big hit and made her a star in Australia. She began a serious romance with the film's director Raymond Longford. Unfortunately he was married a ..read more