Bessie Love
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.
Fotos
Filme (128)
Be Natural — Sei du selbst: Die Filmpionierin Alice Guy-Blaché
2018 · Self (archive footage)
Gareth Hughes
2000 · Self (archive footage)
Alice Guy-Blaché
1997 · Self
The Hunger
1983 · Lillybelle
Reds
1981 · Mrs. Partlow
Ragtime
1981 · Old Lady - T.O.C.
Lady Chatterley's Lover
1981 · Flora
Edward & Mrs. Simpson
1978 · Lady Cunard
Gulliver's Travels
1977 · (voice)
The Ritz
1976 · Maurine
Vampyres
1974 · American Lady
Mousey
1974 · Mrs. Richardson
Catlow
1971 · Mrs. Frost
Sunday Bloody Sunday
1971 · Answering Service Lady
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
1969 · Baccarat Player (uncredited)
Isadora
1968 · Mrs. Duncan
I'll Never Forget What's'isname
1967 · American tourist (uncredited)
Battle Beneath the Earth
1967 · Matron
Promise Her Anything
1966 · Pet Shop Customer
The Wild Affair
1965 · Marjorie's Mother
The Pistol
1965 · Martha Burroughs
I Think They Call Him John
1964 · Narrator (voice)
Children of the Damned
1964 · Mrs. Robbin
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
1961 · Bunny
Too Young to Love
1960 · Mrs. Busch
Nowhere to Go
1958 · Harriet P. Jefferson
Next to No Time
1958 · Becky Wiener
Los ojos del siglo (Volumen I)
1957 · Ella misma (material de archivo)
The Story of Esther Costello
1957 · Art Gallery Customer
Touch and Go
1955 · Mrs Baxter
The Barefoot Contessa
1954 · Mrs. Eubanks
The Weak and the Wicked
1954 · Prisoner
The Magic Box
1952 · Bride's Mother in Wedding Group
No Highway in the Sky
1951 · Plane Passenger (uncredited)
Journey Together
1945 · Mrs. Mary McWilliams
London Scrapbook
1942 · Herself
Atlantic Ferry
1941 · Begonia Baggot
Morals for Women
1931 · Helen Hutson
Round About Hollywood
1931 · Self
See America Thirst
1930 · Ellen
Good News
1930 · Babe
Conspiracy
1930 · Margaret Holt
They Learned About Women
1930 · Mary
Chasing Rainbows
1930 · Carlie Seymour
The Hollywood Revue of 1929
1929 · Self
The Girl in the Show
1929 · Hattie Hartley
The Idle Rich
1929 · Helen Thayer
The Broadway Melody
1929 · Harriet 'Hank' Mahoney
Anybody Here Seen Kelly?
1928 · Mitzi Lavelle
Sally of the Scandals
1928 · Sally Rand
The Swell Head
1928
The Matinee Idol
1928 · Ginger Bolivar
Dress Parade
1927 · Janet Cleghorne
A Harp in Hock
1927 · Nora Banks
Rubber Tires
1927 · Mary Ellen Stack
The American
1927 · Jane Wilton
Going Crooked
1926 · Marie
Young April
1926 · Victoria
Lovey Mary
1926 · Lovey Mary
The Song and Dance Man
1926 · Leola Lane
The King On Main Street
1925 · Mary Young
New Brooms
1925
A Son of His Father
1925 · Nora Shea
Soul-Fire
1925 · Teita
The Lost World
1925 · Paula White
Tongues of Flame
1924 · Lahleet
Sundown
1924 · Ellen Crawley
Dynamite Smith
1924 · Violet
The Silent Watcher
1924 · Mary, his wife
Those Who Dance
1924 · Veda Anargas
The Woman on the Jury
1924 · Grace Pierce
Torment
1924 · Marie
Gentle Julia
1923 · Julia
Slave of Desire
1923 · Pauline Gaudin
St. Elmo
1923 · Edna Earle
The Eternal Three
1923 · Hilda Gray
Human Wreckage
1923 · Mary Finnegan
Mary of the Movies
1923 · Herself (uncredited)
The Purple Dawn
1923 · Mui Far
Souls for Sale
1923 · Self - Celebrity Actress (uncredited)
The Strange Adventures of Prince Courageous
1923 · Bernice
The Ghost Patrol
1923 · Effie Kugler
Three Who Paid
1923 · John Caspar / Virginia Cartwright
Deserted at the Altar
1922 · Anna Moore (The Country Girl)
Night Life in Hollywood
1922 · Self
Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 12
1922 · Self
The Village Blacksmith
1922 · Rosemary Martin
Bulldog Courage
1922 · Gloria Phillips
Forget Me Not
1922 · Ann, The Girl
The Vermilion Pencil
1922 · Hyacinth
The Wampas Baby Stars of 1922
1922 · Self
The Sea Lion
1921 · Blossom Nelson
The Swamp
1921 · Mary
The Spirit of the Lake
1921
The Honor of Rameriz
1921 · The Geologist's Wife
Penny of Top Hill Trail
1921 · Penny
The Midlanders
1920 · Aurelie Lindstrom
Bonnie May
1920 · Bonnie May
Pegeen
1920 · Pegeen O'Neill
A Fighting Colleen
1919 · Alannah Malone
Over the Garden Wall
1919 · Peggy Gordon
Cupid Forecloses
1919 · Geraldine Farleigh
The Little Boss
1919 · Peggy Winston (The Little Boss)
A Yankee Princess
1919 · Patsy O'Reilly, Screenplay
The Wishing Ring Man
1919 · Joy Havenith
Carolyn of the Corners
1919
The Enchanted Barn
1919 · Shirley Hollister
The Dawn of Understanding
1918 · Sue Prescott
A Little Sister of Everybody
1918 · Celeste Janvier
How Could You, Caroline?
1918 · Caroline Rogers
The Great Adventure
1918 · Rags
Polly Ann
1917 · Polly Ann
Wee Lady Betty
1917 · Wee Lady Betty
The Sawdust Ring
1917 · Janet Magie
Cheerful Givers
1917 · Judy
A Daughter of the Poor
1917 · Rose Eastman
Nina, the Flower Girl
1917 · Nina
The Heiress at Coffee Dan's
1916 · Waffles
A Sister of Six
1916 · Prudence
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
1916 · The Bride of Cana (Judean Story)
Hell-to-Pay Austin
1916 · Briar Rose Dawson
Stranded
1916 · The Girl
The Mystery of the Leaping Fish
1916 · The Little Fish Blower
Reggie Mixes In
1916 · Agnes
The Good Bad-Man
1916 · Amy
The Aryan
1916 · Mary Jane Garth
The Flying Torpedo
1916 · Hulda
Acquitted
1916 · Helen Carter
Serien (8)
Hollywood
1980 · Self
Edward and Mrs Simpson
1978 · Lady Cunard
Story Parade
1964 · Mrs. Arquette
The Sentimental Agent
1963 · Mamie
Man of the World
1962 · Mrs Van Kempson
The Andromeda Breakthrough
1962 · Mrs. Neilson
International Detective
1959 · Marta Steibel, Mrs. Morgan
ITV Play of the Week
1955 · Mrs Strong