Mary Pickford
Known For
Acting
Born
1892-04-07 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Died
1979-05-29
Biography
Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1894 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian actress resident in the U.S., and also producer, screenwriter and film studio founder, who was a pioneer in the US film industry with a Hollywood career that spanned five decades. Pickford alongside her future husband, actor-producer Douglas Fairbanks, founded Pickford–Fairbanks Studios and United Artists, and was one of the 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Pickford is considered to be one of the most recognisable women in history. Known as "America's Sweetheart" during the silent film era, she is named on the list of the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars as the 24th-top female star from the Classical Hollywood Cinema era and the "girl with the curls." Pickford was one of the Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood and a significant figure in the development of film acting. She was one of the earliest stars to be billed under her own name, and was one of the most popular actresses of the 1910s and 1920s, earning the nickname "Queen of the Movies." She is credited with having defined the ingénue type in cinema. She was awarded the second Academy Award for Best Actress for her first sound film role in Coquette (1929). By the late 1920s, Pickford's career went into decline. She received an Academy Honorary Award in 1976 in consideration of her contributions to American cinema.
Most Known For
American Experience
as Self
Cinderella
as Cinderella
Esmeralda
as Esmeralda Rogers
Kiki
as Kiki
Caprice
as Mercy Baxter
Rags
as Rags / Alice McCloud
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
as Chariot Race Spectator (uncredited)
Mistress Nell
as Nell Gwyn
The Foundling
as Molly O
The Renunciation
as Kittie Ryan
Her Darkest Hour
as Ruth
Artful Kate
as Artful Kate Stanley
The Stampede
as Nello
His Lost Love
as Mary
My Best Girl
as Maggie Johnson
Pollyanna
as Pollyanna Whittier
White Roses
as Betty
Coquette
as Norma Besant
Three Sisters
as Mary
Madame Butterfly
as Cho-Cho-San