Corinne Griffith | |
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| Born | Corinne Griffin November 21, 1894 Waco, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | July 13, 1979 (aged 84) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Texas at Austin |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1916–1932; 1962 |
| Spouses | Danny Scholl
(m. 1965; div. 1965) |
| Children | 2, adopted |
| Signature | |
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Corinne Griffith (née Griffin; November 21, 1894 – July 13, 1979) was an American film actress, producer, author and businesswoman. Dubbed "The Orchid Lady of the Screen,"[1] she was widely regarded as one of the most beautiful actresses of the silent film era. In addition to her beauty, Griffith achieved critical recognition for her performance in Frank Lloyd's The Divine Lady (1929), which earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Originally from Texas, Griffith pursued a film career after winning a beauty contest in Southern California. In 1916, she signed a contract with Vitagraph Studios, appearing in numerous films for the studio through the remainder of the decade. In 1920, she began making films for First National Pictures and became one of the studio's bigger stars. In the mid-1920s, she began executive-producing features and served as a producer on 1925's Déclassée and Classified, in both of which she starred.
In the latter part of the 1920s, Griffith's film career slowed, though she had lead performances in Outcast (1928) and the drama The Garden of Eden (also 1928). The following year, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Divine Lady. She starred in Lilies of the Field, a remake of the 1924 film in which she had also starred. Her following film, Back Pay (1930), was promoted as Griffith's final screen appearance before her retirement. She did, however, appear as the lead in Lily Christine (1932) two years later.
After 1932, Griffith retired from acting and became a successful author and businesswoman, writing numerous fiction and non-fiction books, as well as venturing into real estate, in which she had begun investing in the 1920s. She married her third husband, Washington Redskins owner George Preston Marshall, in 1936, and remained married to him until 1958. She made her final film appearance with a minor role in Paradise Alley (1962), which marked her first screen appearance in 28 years. A biographical film about Griffith was released in 1963 titled Papa's Delicate Condition, based on her 1952 memoir and focusing on the relationship between her and her father. After suffering a stroke in July 1979, Griffith was hospitalized in Santa Monica, California, where she died shortly after of a heart attack. She left behind a reported estate of $150 million, making her one of the wealthier women in the world at that time.[2]
- ^ Porter 2005, p. 301.
- ^ Slide 2010, p. 170.