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Eleanor Boardman

Eleanor Boardman

Actor · 1898 – 1991 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Olive Eleanor Boardman (August 19, 1898 – December 12, 1991) was an American film actress of the silent era. Olive Eleanor Boardman was born on August 19, 1898, the youngest child to George W. Boardman and Janice Merriam "Jennie" Stockman Boardman. She had two older sisters named Merriam and Esther. In 1920, she was working as a contractor. Educated in Philadelphia, Boardman originally acted on stage, but she lost her voice while starring in The National Anthem. She then entered a nationwide contest for new actors and actresses for silent films. She was chosen from among 1,000 competitors by Goldwyn Pictures as their "New Face of 1922". Her initial screen test was unsuccessful, but a second test resulted in a contract. After several successful supporting roles, she played the lead in Souls for Sale in 1923. That same year, Boardman's growing popularity was reflected by her inclusion on the list of WAMPAS Baby Stars. She appeared in more than 30 films during her career, including director King Vidor's The Crowd (1928). Her performance in that film is widely recognized as one of the outstanding performances in American silent film. In 1932, after some success in sound films, she parted ways with MGM. Her final film was The Three Cornered Hat, which was made in Spain in 1935. After that production, she retired from acting and retreated from Hollywood. Her last appearances were in an interview filmed for Kevin Brownlow and David Gill's British documentary series Hollywood (1980) and the series MGM: When the Lion Roars (1992).

Movies24

  • Movie7.6

    The Crowd

    1928 · 202 votes

  • Movie7.1

    Show People

    1928 · 57 votes

  • Movie8.0

    Memory Lane

    1926 · 1 votes

  • Movie7.0

    So This Is Marriage?

    1924 · 1 votes

  • Movie10.0

    Vanity Fair

    1923 · 1 votes

  • Movie10.0

    Diamond Handcuffs

    1928 · 1 votes

  • Movie6.5

    Tell It to the Marines

    1926 · 20 votes

  • Movie6.3

    Souls for Sale

    1923 · 22 votes

  • Movie4.9

    Mamba

    1930 · 9 votes

  • Movie5.4

    The Squaw Man

    1931 · 12 votes

  • Movie7.4

    Bardelys the Magnificent

    1926 · 14 votes

  • Movie6.4

    She Goes to War

    1929 · 7 votes

  • Movie10.0

    The Flood

    1931 · 1 votes

  • Movie7.0

    Sinners in Silk

    1924 · 1 votes

  • Movie5.7

    Redemption

    1930 · 3 votes

  • Movie5.4

    The Circle

    1925 · 14 votes

  • Movie7.2

    Proud Flesh

    1925 · 4 votes

  • Movie9.0

    Land of Liberty

    1939 · 1 votes

  • Movie6.2

    1925 Studio Tour

    1925 · 20 votes

  • Movie9.0

    True As Steel

    1924 · 1 votes

  • Movie3.3
  • Movie10.0

    Three Wise Fools

    1923 · 1 votes

  • Movie8.3

    Wine of Youth

    1924 · 3 votes

  • Movie8.0

    The Day of Faith

    1923 · 1 votes