The Greatest Female Stars of the 1920ies
by dziwnytenswiat | created - 01 Jul 2012 | updated - 07 Jul 2012 | PublicThe average IMDb vote of the best 5 films of each star gives the ranking. Maximum 50 Persons.
1. Lillian Gish
Actress | The Night of the Hunter
Lillian Diana Gish was born on October 14, 1893, in Springfield, Ohio. Her father, James Lee Gish, was an alcoholic who caroused, was rarely at home, and left the family to, more or less, fend for themselves. To help make ends meet, Lillian, her sister Dorothy Gish, and their mother, Mary Gish, ...
Vote: 7,794
2. Jobyna Ralston
Actress | Lightning
Curly-locked, cherubic knockabout comedienne of the silent cinema. Her mother, portrait photographer Mrs. Kemp Raulston, named her after her favorite actress, Jobyna Howland. She harbored ambitions for her daughter to achieve similar fame and trained her to that end. After a failed teenage marriage...
Vote: 7,694
3. Marion Davies
Actress | Little Old New York
Marion Davies was one of the great comedic actresses of the silent era and into the 1930s.
Marion Cecelia Douras was born in the borough of Brooklyn, New York on January 3, 1897, the daughter of Rose (Reilly) and Bernard J. Douras, a lawyer and judge. Her parents were both of Irish descent. Marion ...
Vote: 7,682
4. Janet Gaynor
Actress | A Star Is Born
Janet Gaynor was born Laura Gainor on October 6, 1906, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As a child, she & her parents moved to San Francisco, California, where she graduated from high school in 1923. She then moved to Los Angeles where she enrolled in a secretarial school. She got a job at a shoe ...
Vote: 7,606
5. Lil Dagover
Actress | Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari
A prominent German film actress born on 30 September 1887 at Madiven, Java, the daughter of a forest ranger in the service of the Dutch authorities. Sent at the age of ten to Baden-Baden to study, she later entered the cinema thanks to her marriage in 1917 to the actor Fritz Dagover who was 25 ...
Vote: 7,570
6. Jane Winton
Actress | Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
Statuesque, gorgeous Jane Winton was billed as the "Green-Eyed Goddess of Hollywood". The former Ziegfeld Follies dancer appeared in a good number of films from 1925--if not as the nominal star, then at least very high up on the list of credits. Her aloof beauty was tailor-made for playing ...
Vote: 7,570
7. Edna Purviance
Actress | A Woman of Paris: A Drama of Fate
Edna Purviance began working as a stenographer in San Francisco. Charles Chaplin invited her to join him at Essanay Studio in 1915, the year of her film debut in Chaplin's His Night Out. Over the next seven years she appeared as his leading lady in over 20 Chaplin films made by Essanay, Mutual, and...
Vote: 7,542
8. Gloria Swanson
Actress | Sunset Boulevard
Gloria Swanson was born Gloria May Josephine Svensson in Chicago, Illinois. She was destined to be perhaps one of the biggest stars of the silent movie era. Her personality and antics in private definitely made her a favorite with America's movie-going public. Gloria certainly didn't intend on ...
7,532 points
9. Renée Adorée
Actress | The Big Parade
Renee Adoree was born Jeanne de la Fontein in Lille in Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France, on September 30, 1898. She had what one could call a normal childhood. Her background is, perhaps, one of the most difficult to find information on any actress in existence. What we do know that her interest in ...
Vote: 7,514
10. Joan Crawford
Actress | What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Joan Crawford was born Lucille Fay LeSueur on March 23, 1906, in San Antonio, Texas, to Anna Belle (Johnson) and Thomas E. LeSueur, a laundry laborer. By the time she was born, her parents had separated, and by the time she was a teenager, she'd had three stepfathers. It wasn't an easy life; ...
Vote: 7,508
11. Brigitte Helm
Actress | Metropolis
Born in Berlin, Germany. After her role in Metropolis (1927) she made a string of movies in which she almost always had the starring role, easily making the transition to sound films. Her last film was An Ideal Spouse (1935) which was released in 1935. She died on June 11th 1996 of heart failure in...
Vote: 7,446
12. Eleanor Boardman
Actress | Souls for Sale
Philadelphia-born Eleanor Boardman had always wanted to be an actress, and as soon as she graduated high school she headed for New York to conquer Broadway. When Broadway proved not quite ready to be conquered yet, she took whatever jobs she could find, including one as an artist's model. In that ...
Vote: 7,434
13. Mildred Davis
Actress | A Sailor-Made Man
Mildred Davis was born on February 22, 1898 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. She was an actress, known for A Sailor-Made Man (1921), Safety Last! (1923) and Dr. Jack (1922). She was married to Harold Lloyd. She died on August 18, 1969 in Santa Monica, California, USA.
Vote: 7,396
14. Frida Richard
Actress | Ihre Hoheit
Frida Richard was born on November 1, 1873 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. She was an actress, known for Ihre Hoheit (1914), Die Nibelungen: Siegfried (1924) and Hedda Gabler (1925). She was married to Fritz Richard. She died on September 12, 1946 in Salzburg, Austria.
Vote: 7,344
15. Norma Shearer
Actress | The Divorcee
She won a beauty contest at age fourteen. In 1920 her mother, Edith Shearer, took Norma and her sister Athole Shearer (Mrs. Howard Hawks) to New York. Ziegfeld rejected her for his "Follies," but she got work as an extra in several movies. She spent much money on eye doctor's services trying to ...
Vote: 7,342
16. Greta Garbo
Actress | Ninotchka
Greta Garbo was born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson on September 18, 1905, in Stockholm, Sweden, to Anna Lovisa (Johansdotter), who worked at a jam factory, and Karl Alfred Gustafsson, a laborer. She was fourteen when her father died, which left the family destitute. Greta was forced to leave school and ...
Vote: 7,334
17. Kathryn McGuire
Actress | The Navigator
Kathryn McGuire was born on December 6, 1903 in Peoria, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for The Navigator (1924), Sherlock Jr. (1924) and The Big Diamond Robbery (1929). She was married to George Landy. She died on October 10, 1978 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Vote: 7,322
18. Louise Brooks
Actress | Die Büchse der Pandora
Mary Louise Brooks, also known by her childhood name of Brooksie, was born in the Midwestern town of Cherryvale, Kansas, on November 14, 1906. She began dancing at an early age with the Denishawn Dancers (which was how she left Kansas and went to New York) and then with George White's Scandals ...
Vote: 7,320
19. Vilma Bánky
Actress | The Son of the Sheik
Vilma Bánky appeared in Hungarian, Austrian and French movies between 1920 and 1925, the year in which Samuel Goldwyn signed her, in Budapest, to a Hollywood contract. In Hollywood she was billed as the "The Hungarian Rhapsody". In the mid and late 1920s she was Goldwyn's biggest money maker, ...
Vote: 7,294
20. Mary Philbin
Actress | The Man Who Laughs
Mary Philbin's life should be a lesson to domineering parents. Mary was born on July 16, 1903, in Chicago, Illinois, to John Philbin and his first wife and namesake, Mary. The child was regarded as a little beauty from an early age and her mother was exceedingly proud of her and loved to show her ...
Vote: 7,264
21. Aud Egede-Nissen
Actress | Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler
Aud Egede-Nissen was born on May 30, 1893 in Bergen, Norway. She was an actress and producer, known for Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1922), Das Phantom der Oper (1916) and Deception (1920). She was married to Paul Richter and Georg Alexander. She died on November 6, 1974 in Oslo, Norway.
Vote: 7,250
22. Mary Pickford
Actress | Coquette
Mary Pickford was born Gladys Louise Smith in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to Elsie Charlotte (Hennessy) and John Charles Smith. She was of English and Irish descent. Pickford began in the theater at age seven. Then known as "Baby Gladys Smith", she toured with her family in a number of theater ...
Vote: 7,244
23. Edythe Chapman
Actress | Bound in Morocco
Edythe Chapman was born in Rochester, New York on October 8, 1863. A stage actress who came upon movies late in life, she nonetheless made 97 motion pictures. She was 51 years old when she played in _Richelieu (1914)_. Edythe was one of the busier actresses in the early silent era appearing in as ...
Vote: 7,230
24. Maude George
Actress | The Wedding March
Maude George a character performer and few starring roles was often seen as a aristocratic lady in many silent drama films most often with the Universal Film Company from 1915 later she occasionally was seen working for the Vitagraph Film Company and also Goldwyn she never appeared in talkies. ...
Vote: 7,212
25. Clara Bow
Actress | Wings
Clara Gordon Bow, destined to become "The It Girl", was born on July 29, 1905 in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in poverty and violence. Her often absentee and brutish father could not or did not provide and her schizophrenic mother tried to slit Clara's throat when the girl spoke of becoming ...
Vote: 7,208
26. Evelyn Brent
Actress | The Silver Horde
Petite, sultry leading lady of the 1920's and 30's who was born and schooled in Tampa, Florida, until the age of ten when she lost her mother. She moved to New York with her dad and started modelling while still in her teens. Her original intention was to go into the teaching profession. Instead, ...
Vote: 7,194
27. Zasu Pitts
Actress | Greed
Classic comedienne Zasu Pitts, of the timid, forlorn blue eyes and trademark woebegone vocal pattern and fidgety hands, was born to Rulandus and Nellie (Shay) Pitts, the third of four children on January 3, 1894. Her aged New York-native father, who lost a leg back in the Civil War era, had settled...
Vote: 7,188
28. Julanne Johnston
Actress | The Thief of Bagdad
Julanne was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, but she and her family briefly lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, then settled in Los Angeles, California, where she attended the Hollywood School for Girls. She also studied dancing and went on tour with the Ruth St. Denis Dancers, which led to her first ...
Vote: 7,188
29. Constance Talmadge
Actress | Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
Constance was blonde; star sister Norma Talmadge was brunette. She was buoyant and a comedienne; Norma was introspective and a tragedienne. Nicknamed "Dutch" by her stage mother Peg as she looked like a cherubic Little Dutch Boy, silver screen star Constance Talmadge was one of silent pictures' ...
Vote: 7,140
30. Marceline Day
Actress | The Cameraman
The younger sister of actress Alice Day, Marceline achieved stardom in the mid-1920s, appearing opposite such stars as John Barrymore and Lon Chaney. Adept at comedy, she also starred with such top comics as Buster Keaton and Harry Langdon. Her career faltered in the early 1930s, however, and she ...
Vote: 7,136
31. Bebe Daniels
Actress | 42nd Street
Bebe Daniels already had toured as an actor by the age of four in a stage production of "Richard III". She had her first leading role at the age of seven and started her film career shortly after this in movies for Imperial, Pathe and others. At 14 she was already a film veteran, and was enlisted ...
Vote: 7,098
32. Fay Wray
Actress | King Kong
Canadian-born Fay Wray was brought up in Los Angeles and entered films at an early age. She was barely in her teens when she started working as an extra. She began her career as a heroine in westerns at Universal during the silent era. In 1926 the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers ...
Vote: 7,036
33. Barbara Kent
Actress | Lonesome
A pretty, diminutive (4'11") actress of the silent and early sound era, Barbara Cloutman (later Kent) was born in Gadsby, Alberta, Canada on December 16, 1907. Upon graduating from Hollywood High School in 1925, Kent won the Miss Hollywood Pageant, and set her sights on a career in the movies. She ...
Vote: 7,024
34. Carol Dempster
Actress | Sally of the Sawdust
Carol Dempster was born on December 9, 1901 in Duluth, Minnesota, USA. She was an actress, known for Sally of the Sawdust (1925), Isn't Life Wonderful (1924) and Dream Street (1921). She was married to Edwin S Larsen. She died on February 1, 1991 in La Jolla, California, USA.
Vote: 7,024
35. Alice Terry
Actress | The Conquering Power
Alice started as an extra in films at age 15. She worked in "Inceville" and would appear as several characters in 'Civilization (1916)'. In 1917, she would meet director Rex Ingram and they would marry in 1921. It was also in 1921 that Alice would gain acclaim as Marguerite in 'The Four Horsemen of...
Vote: 7,022
36. Betty Compson
Actress | Street Girl
A mining engineer's daughter, blond, blue-eyed Betty Compson began in show business playing the violin in a Salt Lake City vaudeville establishment for $15 a week. Following that, she went on tour, accompanied by her mother, with an act called 'The Vagabond Violinist'. Aged eighteen, she appeared ...
Vote: 7,020
37. Anita Page
Actress | The Broadway Melody
Beautiful Anita Page was one of the most famous and popular leading ladies during the last years of the silent screen and the first years of the talkie era. She was best known for starring in The Broadway Melody (1929), the first sound film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Her leading men...
Vote: 7,012
38. Lya De Putti
Actress | Othello
The daughter of a Hungarian baroness and a military officer, Lya De Putti went on to perform classical ballet in Berlin, Germany, after a brief stint in Hungarian vaudeville. She later made several films at the German UFA studios, most notably Variety (1925), before going to Hollywood in 1926. ...
Vote: 6,972
39. Natalie Kingston
Actress | Tarzan the Tiger
She traced her lineage back to the first Spanish governor of California. Her great-grandfather on her mother's side was Hungarian-born Agoston Haraszthy, dubbed the father of Californian viticulture. Leggy, olive-complexioned Natalia Ringstrom grew up and was educated in the San Francisco Bay area....
Vote: 6,954
40. Norma Talmadge
Actress | Camille
Norma Talmadge was born on May 26, 1895, in Jersey City, New Jersey. The daughter of an unemployed alcoholic and his wife, Norma did not have the idyllic childhood that most of us yearn for. Her father left the family on Christmas Day and his wife and three daughters had to fend for themselves. Her...
Vote: 6,942
41. Marie Prevost
Actress | The Racket
Popular star in Hollywood for two decades through 1936, Marie Prevost began as a Mack Sennett "Bathing Beauty" in 1917, later starring in dozens of light comedies. But not long into the sound era, she encountered problems with her burgeoning weight, to the jeopardy of her career. Her self-remedy ...
Vote: 6,942
42. Colleen Moore
Actress | So Big
Colleen Moore was born Kathleen Morrison in Port Huron, Michigan. Her father was an irrigation engineer and his job was good enough to provide the family a middle-class environment. She was educated in parochial schools and studied at the famed Detroit Conservatory. Colleen's family moved to ...
Vote: 6,930
43. Asta Nielsen
Actress | Hamlet
Danish leading woman of German films who became one of the greatest stars of the silent era. A native of the Copenhagen suburb of Vesterbro, Nielsen was the daughter of a coppersmith and a washerwoman, both of whom died before Nielsen was fifteen. Her stage debut came as a child in the chorus of ...
Vote: 6,910
44. Marguerite De La Motte
Actress | The Mark of Zorro
Marguerite de la Motte was trained as a dancer, reputedly by the great ballerina Anna Pavlova, and entered films in 1918. She played opposite Douglas Fairbanks in many of his productions. Like many performers of the silent era, however, she was not able to sustain her career with the coming of ...
Vote: 6,894
45. Madge Bellamy
Actress | White Zombie
Madge was born as Margaret Philpott in Texas. She got her start in theater working with a stock company in Denver. Put under a personal contract by a Broadway producer, Madge got her big break when she replaced Helen Hayes in the Broadway play "Dear Brutus". Her success as a stage actress led to ...
Vote: 6,876
46. Pola Negri
Actress | Bella Donna
Pola Negri was born in Lipno, Poland, and moved to Warsaw as a child. Living in poverty with her mother, a teenage Pola auditioned and was accepted to the Imperial Ballet. Due to an illness that ended her dancing career, she soon switched to the Warsaw Imperial Academy of Dramatic Arts and became ...
Vote: 6,850
47. Gertrude Olmstead
Actress | The Monster
Gertrude Olmstead was born in Chicago, IL, on Nov. 13, 1897. She entered the film business early, making her film debut in The Fox (1921) at 17 years of age. The next year she appeared in the hit The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1922). She stayed busy throughout the 1920s, appearing in a total of...
Vote: 6,840
48. Louise Dresser
Actress | The Scarlet Empress
This knowing, plump-framed, strong-willed actress went on to play the gamut of emotions, from downtrodden, drunken ex-stars to self-controlled dowager empresses, in both silent pictures and early talkies. Grandly supporting the huge stars of her day (including Rudolph Valentino and Will Rogers), ...
Vote: 6,818
49. Catherine Hessling
Actress | Nana
Catherine Hessling was born on June 22, 1900 in Moronvilliers, Marne, France. She was an actress, known for Nana (1926), Little Red Riding Hood (1930) and Whirlpool of Fate (1925). She was married to Jean Renoir. She died on September 28, 1979 in La-Celle-Saint-Cloud, Yvelines, France.
Vote: 6,782
50. Henny Porten
Actress | Hintertreppe
Henny Porten was born January 7, 1890, in Magdeburg, Germany. She had one of the longest careers of any German actress and was highly sought after because of her wonderful thespian skills. Henny's career would stretch over six decades, from 1906 to 1955. Her first film was in Apachentanz (1906), ...
Vote: 6,764
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