Mary Pickford Biography

Fast Facts

• Ranked No․ 24 on the American Film Institute's "100 Years․․․ 100 Stars" list for Female Legends
• The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences would establish the Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study in her honor in 1948
• Served as one of the founding 36 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences which was formed in 1927
• Established the Motion Picture Relief Fund in 1921 and later funded the Motion Picture Country House and Hospital
• Extremely recluse in her later years due to her declining health, she would die from complications due to a cerebral hemorrhage in 1979 at the age of 87
• After pursuing a career on Broadway for over six years as a teen, she was determined to quit acting for good until she secured a supporting role in the 1906 production of Edmund Burke
• Encouraged to pursue acting at seven-years-old after a local stage manager visited her mother's boarding house in the late 19th century
• Served as a founding member of United Artists in 1919 alongside D․W․ Griffith, Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks
• Transitioned to film roles after meeting director D․W․ Griffith while at an audition in New York sometime during 1909
• As her on-screen career began to slow with the arrival of "talkies", she would transition to other executive roles with UA and AMPAS, officially retiring from film roles by 1933
• Widely recognized as being one of the first Canadian actors or actresses to achieve fame and success in Hollywood
• At the height of her initial fame, she would go on to appear in over 50 films over the course of one calendar year
• Known for her youthful ringlet curls during her teen years, her bob haircut in 1928 would make front page news on The New York Times, while also outraging her most loyal fans
• Owner of the famed Pickfair Manor, which served as one of the most prominent gathering places for Hollywood's elite during the '20s and '30s