Dorothy Gish

 Dorothy Gish was born into a broken family where her restless father James Lee Gish was frequently absent. Mary Robinson McConnell a.k.a. Mary Gish, her mother, had entered into acting to make money to support the family. As soon as Dorothy and her sister Lillian Gish were old enough, they became part of the act. To supplement their income, the two sisters also posed for pictures and acted in melodramas of the time. In 1912 they met fellow child actress Mary Pickford, and she got them extra work with Biograph Pictures. Director D.W. Griffith was impressed by both the girls and cast them in "An Unseen Enemy" (1912), their first picture. Dorothy would go on to star in over 100 two-reel films and features over the years. She would appear in the very successful "Judith of Bethulia" (1914) with Blanche Sweet.

"I wanted to be a tragedienne. I only wanted sad parts. When mother read the press notices when I was on the road, saying I was a 'comedienne,' the tears rolled down my cheeks. I thought comedians had to have black on their faces or red beards."

While she would excel in pantomime and light comedy, her popularity would always be overshadowed by that of her sister Lillian, who was considered to be one the silent screen's greatest stars. Dorothy would only make a handful of movies in the 1920s, and in "Romola" (1924)--a costume picture about Italy in the Middle Ages--she would again co-star with Lillian. By 1926, Dorothy had moved to England, where she would star as the title role in "Nell Gwyn" (1926). Her last silent film would be "Madame Pompadour" (1927). In 1928, Dorothy would retire from the screen, except for a few occasional roles, and enjoy a long career on the stage.

Dorothy on why she turned down a million dollar offer from Paramount in 1919: "At my age (21 at the time), all that money would ruin my character."