Famous 19th Century Actresses

Hattie McDaniel was an American actress, comedian, and singer-songwriter. She became the first African-American to be honored with an Academy Award when her portrayal of Mammy earned her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Also a radio performer, Hattie McDaniel was the first African American woman to express her skills as a singer on the radio in the US.

Academy Award-winning Canadian-American actor Gladys Marie Smith, better known by her pseudonym, Mary Pickford, was also one of the co-founders of Pickford–Fairbanks Studios and United Artists. She and 35 others co-founded the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She was also known as "America's Sweetheart" of silent films.

Actress and producer, Gloria Swanson, appeared in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and became a prominent Hollywood figure. As a teenager, she ventured into acting by chance and became a popular face soon after. After establishing herself as an actress, she became a filmmaker as well and is considered one of the film industry's pioneering women filmmakers.

Irene Dunne was a prominent actor of the Golden Age of Hollywood. She is best known for her comedy roles and was nominated for the Academy Award five times. Some of her best-known films were Theodora Goes Wild and I Remember Mama. A devout Catholic, she received the papal knighthood.

Sarah Bernhardt was a French actress known for playing important roles in popular French plays of the early-20th century.  Her decision to play Hamlet inspired Theresa Rebeck's play Bernhardt/Hamlet, in which Janet McTeer portrayed Sarah Bernhardt. In 1960, Bernhardt became the earliest born person to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Shirley Booth is best remembered for her Academy Award-winning role in Come Back, Little Sheba and was one of only 24 people to earn the Triple Crown of Acting, namely the Academy, the Primetime Emmy, and the Tony awards. She also appeared in a TV production of The Glass Menagerie.

Marie Dressler was a Canadian comedian and actress. A major film star during the Depression-era, Dressler received the 1931 Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Min Divot in the 1930 American comedy-drama film, Min and Bill. Her life and career inspired a play titled Queen Marie, which was written by Shirley Barrie.

Anna Held was a Polish singer and stage performer. Although her personal life and relationship with Florenz Ziegfeld overshadowed her professional career, Anna Held's uninhibited style inspired the popular theatrical revue productions on Broadway, The Ziegfeld Follies. Her relationship with Florenz Ziegfeld also inspired films like The Great Ziegfeld and Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women.

One of the first female interior designers of her time, Elsie de Wolfe was largely known for her anti-Victorian elements in her designs. She was also a professional stage actor and had also launched her own theater company. Her works include the Colony Club, New York’s first women’s club.