Mary Pickford
Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founded Pickford–Fairbanks Studios and United Artists, and was one of the 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[3] Pickford is considered to be one of the most recognisable women in history.[4]
Mary Pickford | |
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 Pickford in 1910 | |
| Born | Gladys Marie Smith[1] April 8, 1892 |
| Died | May 29, 1979 (aged 87) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Burial place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California |
| Citizenship | British subject (1892–1920) United States (1920–1979) Canada (1978–1979)[2] |
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| Years active | 1900–1955 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
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| Website | Mary Pickford Foundation |
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Cited 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 stars from the Classical Hollywood Cinema era [5][6][7] and the "girl with the curls",[7]
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,[8] 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.[9]
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.