Mary Pickford
The original 'America's Sweetheart' and silent film pioneer.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Gladys Louise Smith, later baptized as Gladys Marie Smith, was born on April 8, 1892, and died on May 29, 1979. Known professionally as Mary Pickford, she was a Canadian American actress and producer. A key figure in early Hollywood, her career in the American film industry lasted five decades, and she became one of the silent film era's most popular performers. Pickford started making films in 1909, and by 1916 she was Hollywood's first millionaire. At her peak, she had full creative control over her movies and was among the most famous women globally. Her immense popularity, international renown, and achievements as both an actress and businesswoman earned her the title "Queen of the Movies." She helped shape film acting and is recognized for establishing the ingénue archetype in cinema, a role that led to her nickname "America's Sweetheart."
Pickford was born in Toronto, Ontario, at a hospital that later became the Hospital for Sick Children. Her father, John Charles Smith, was the son of English Methodist immigrants and worked various odd jobs; her mother, Charlotte Hennessey, was of Irish Catholic descent and worked as a seamstress. Pickford had two younger siblings who also became actors: Lottie and Jack. Her father was an alcoholic and died from a workplace accident when Pickford was five, a traumatic event that prevented her from attending school or learning to read as a child. The family lived in a poor Toronto district where disease was common, and Pickford was baptized by a Catholic priest at her grandmother’s request. After her father’s death, her mother took in boarders. One boarder, a theatrical stage manager, suggested that seven-year-old Gladys and her sister perform in a stage production. Pickford subsequently acted in many melodramas with a stock company, eventually playing the lead child role in *The Silver King* and starring as Little Eva in *Uncle Tom’s Cabin*. In 1901, the family moved to the United States to pursue theatre, touring in third-rate companies and living in poverty. Pickford learned to read from basic primers and received no formal schooling. In 1907, after persistently pursuing Broadway producer David Belasco, she was hired for a play. Belasco disliked her name and gave her the stage name Mary Pickford, using her middle name and her maternal grandmother’s surname.
- born
- April 8, 1892, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- died
- May 29, 1979
- field
- Film acting, producing
- nationality
- Canadian American
- known_for
- Silent film star, co-founder of United Artists, Academy Award winner
Lore & Background
Mary Pickford was born Gladys Louise Smith in 1892 in Toronto, Ontario. Her father, John Charles Smith, died in 1898 from a blood clot caused by a workplace accident. Her mother, Charlotte Hennessey, was of Irish Catholic descent. Pickford had two younger siblings, Lottie and Jack, both actors. She was baptized as Gladys Marie Smith by a Roman Catholic priest. At age seven, she was given two small theatrical roles in a production of The Silver King. She later acted in many melodramas with Toronto's Valentine Stock Company. In 1901, her family moved to the United States to pursue theatre. In 1907, she was hired by Broadway producer David Belasco for The Warrens of Virginia, who gave her the stage name Mary Pickford. In 1909, she began her film career at Biograph Company under D. W. Griffith, appearing in 51 films that year. She co-founded United Artists in 1919 and was one of the 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1927. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Coquette (1929) and received an Academy Honorary Award in 1976.
Reader's Guide
Mary Pickford, born Gladys Louise Smith in Toronto in 1892, began her stage career at age seven after her father’s death from a workplace accident left the family in poverty. She performed in melodramas with Toronto’s Valentine Stock Company, notably playing Little Eva in *Uncle Tom’s Cabin*. In 1901, the family moved to the United States as a traveling theatre troupe, with Pickford supporting her mother and two younger siblings. She learned to read only through basic primers, receiving no formal schooling. In 1907, Broadway producer David Belasco cast her in *The Warrens of Virginia*, giving her the stage name Mary Pickford. By 1909, she turned to motion pictures. Pickford became Hollywood’s first millionaire by 1916, with complete creative control over her films. She defined the “girl” type in cinema, earning the nickname “America’s Sweetheart” and the title “Queen of the Movies.” In 1919, she co-founded United Artists with Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and D. W. Griffith. She was a founder of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1927, won the second Academy Award for Best Actress for her first sound film *Coquette* (1929), and received an Honorary Oscar in 1976. The American Film Institute ranked her the 24th-greatest female star of Classical Hollywood Cinema.
Did You Know?
- Mary Pickford was known as the 'Queen of the Movies' and 'America's Sweetheart'.
- She co-founded United Artists in 1919 with Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and D. W. Griffith.
- She was awarded the second Academy Award for Best Actress for her first sound film role in Coquette (1929).
- The American Film Institute named her the 24th-greatest female star of Classical Hollywood Cinema in 1999.
Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)
"Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-born film star and co-founder of United Artists, known as "America's Sweetheart" and "the girl with the curls." — Mary Pickford "I was forced to live far beyond my years when just a child, now I have reversed the order and I intend to remain young indefinitely." — Mary Pickford "[Talking pictures are] like putting lip rouge on the Venus de Milo." — Mary Pickford "Associated Press, "Mary Pickford Sees Talkies as Lipstick on Milo", Los Angeles Times, 18 March 1934, p. 1. Cf. "Los Angeles Times", 20 March 1934, p. A4: "Talking pictures are like lip rouge on the Venus de Milo." — Mary Pickford
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