Bessie Love
Acting
Bessie Love (born Juanita Horton, September 10, 1898 - April 26, 1986) became one of the most recognizable faces of early American cinema. After her family moved to Los Angeles, she was sent to Biograph Studios, where legendary director D.W. Griffith noticed her talent and cast her in several films, including Intolerance (1916). During the silent era, she gained popularity for her lively, wholesome screen presence and worked with major stars such as Douglas Fairbanks. Her career soared in the 1920s, and she was named a WAMPAS Baby Star in 1922, marking her as one of Hollywood’s most promising young actresses. Love made a successful transition to sound films—something many silent stars struggled with. Her performance as Hank Mahoney in The Broadway Melody (1929) earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, cementing her place in film history. In the 1930s, she moved to the United Kingdom, where she continued acting in film, theatre, radio, and later television. Her career ultimately spanned from 1915 to 1983, making her one of the longest‑working performers of her generation. She died on April 26, 1986, in London at age 87.
Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché
Self (archive footage)
Gareth Hughes
Self (archive footage)
Alice Guy-Blaché
Self
The Hunger
Lillybelle
Reds
Mrs. Partlow
Ragtime
Old Lady - T.O.C.
Lady Chatterley's Lover
Flora
Edward & Mrs. Simpson
Lady Cunard
Gulliver's Travels
(voice)
The Ritz
Maurine
Vampyres
American Lady
Mousey
Mrs. Richardson
Catlow
Mrs. Frost
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Answering Service Lady
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Baccarat Player (uncredited)
Isadora
Mrs. Duncan
I'll Never Forget What's'isname
American tourist (uncredited)
Battle Beneath the Earth
Matron
Promise Her Anything
Pet Shop Customer
The Wild Affair
Marjorie's Mother
The Pistol
Martha Burroughs
I Think They Call Him John
Narrator (voice)
Children of the Damned
Mrs. Robbin
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
Bunny
Too Young to Love
Mrs. Busch
Nowhere to Go
Harriet P. Jefferson
Next to No Time
Becky Wiener
The Story of Esther Costello
Art Gallery Customer
Touch and Go
Mrs Baxter
The Barefoot Contessa
Mrs. Eubanks
The Weak and the Wicked
Prisoner
The Magic Box
Bride's Mother in Wedding Group
No Highway in the Sky
Plane Passenger (uncredited)
Journey Together
Mrs. Mary McWilliams
London Scrapbook
Herself
Atlantic Ferry
Begonia Baggot
Morals for Women
Helen Hutson
Round About Hollywood
Self
See America Thirst
Ellen
Good News
Babe
Conspiracy
Margaret Holt
They Learned About Women
Mary
Chasing Rainbows
Carlie Seymour
The Hollywood Revue of 1929
Self
The Girl in the Show
Hattie Hartley
The Idle Rich
Helen Thayer
The Broadway Melody
Harriet 'Hank' Mahoney
Anybody Here Seen Kelly?
Mitzi Lavelle
Sally of the Scandals
Sally Rand
The Swell Head
The Matinee Idol
Ginger Bolivar
Dress Parade
Janet Cleghorne
A Harp in Hock
Nora Banks
Rubber Tires
Mary Ellen Stack
The American
Jane Wilton
Going Crooked
Marie
Young April
Victoria
Lovey Mary
Lovey Mary
The Song and Dance Man
Leola Lane
The King On Main Street
Mary Young
New Brooms
A Son of His Father
Nora Shea
Soul-Fire
Teita
The Lost World
Paula White
Tongues of Flame
Lahleet
Sundown
Ellen Crawley
Dynamite Smith
Violet
The Silent Watcher
Mary, his wife
Those Who Dance
Veda Anargas
The Woman on the Jury
Grace Pierce
Torment
Marie
Gentle Julia
Julia
Slave of Desire
Pauline Gaudin
St. Elmo
Edna Earle
The Eternal Three
Hilda Gray
Human Wreckage
Mary Finnegan
Mary of the Movies
Herself (uncredited)
The Purple Dawn
Mui Far
Souls for Sale
Self - Celebrity Actress (uncredited)
The Strange Adventures of Prince Courageous
Bernice
The Ghost Patrol
Effie Kugler
Three Who Paid
John Caspar / Virginia Cartwright
Deserted at the Altar
Anna Moore (The Country Girl)
Night Life in Hollywood
Self
Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 12
Self
The Village Blacksmith
Rosemary Martin
Bulldog Courage
Gloria Phillips
Forget Me Not
Ann, The Girl
The Vermilion Pencil
Hyacinth
The Wampas Baby Stars of 1922
Self
The Sea Lion
Blossom Nelson
The Spirit of the Lake
The Swamp
Mary
The Honor of Rameriz
The Geologist's Wife
Penny of Top Hill Trail
Penny
The Midlanders
Aurelie Lindstrom
Bonnie May
Bonnie May
Pegeen
Pegeen O'Neill
A Fighting Colleen
Alannah Malone
Over the Garden Wall
Peggy Gordon
Cupid Forecloses
Geraldine Farleigh
The Little Boss
Peggy Winston (The Little Boss)
A Yankee Princess
Patsy O'Reilly
The Wishing Ring Man
Joy Havenith
Carolyn of the Corners
The Enchanted Barn
Shirley Hollister
The Dawn of Understanding
Sue Prescott
A Little Sister of Everybody
Celeste Janvier
How Could You, Caroline?
Caroline Rogers
The Great Adventure
Rags
Polly Ann
Polly Ann
Wee Lady Betty
Wee Lady Betty
The Sawdust Ring
Janet Magie
Cheerful Givers
Judy
A Daughter of the Poor
Rose Eastman
Nina, the Flower Girl
Nina
The Heiress at Coffee Dan's
Waffles
A Sister of Six
Prudence
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
The Bride of Cana (Judean Story)
Hell-to-Pay Austin
Briar Rose Dawson
Stranded
The Girl
The Mystery of the Leaping Fish
The Little Fish Blower
Reggie Mixes In
Agnes
The Good Bad-Man
Amy
The Aryan
Mary Jane Garth
The Flying Torpedo
Hulda
Acquitted
Helen Carter