
Bessie Love
Born September 9, 1898 · Midland, Texas, USA
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.
More Movies

Reds

No Highway in the Sky

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages

Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché

Ragtime

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Vampyres

The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone

Children of the Damned

The Ritz

The Broadway Melody

Too Young to Love

The Hollywood Revue of 1929

Battle Beneath the Earth

I'll Never Forget What's'isname

The Lost World

The Weak and the Wicked

Catlow

Nowhere to Go

Next to No Time

Promise Her Anything

Anybody Here Seen Kelly?

Mary of the Movies

Soul-Fire

The Good Bad-Man

Gentle Julia

The Magic Box

The Story of Esther Costello

The Woman on the Jury

Mousey

Isadora

The Matinee Idol

They Learned About Women

Souls for Sale

Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 12

Dress Parade

St. Elmo

Pegeen

Torment

A Daughter of the Poor

The Wild Affair

Edward & Mrs. Simpson

Gulliver's Travels

Cupid Forecloses

The Girl in the Show

Good News

Night Life in Hollywood

The King On Main Street

I Think They Call Him John

Deserted at the Altar

The Mystery of the Leaping Fish

The Wishing Ring Man

A Harp in Hock

Nina, the Flower Girl

Polly Ann

Journey Together

A Sister of Six

A Son of His Father

Touch and Go

Round About Hollywood

A Little Sister of Everybody

Carolyn of the Corners

Morals for Women

Forget Me Not

The Dawn of Understanding

Conspiracy

Atlantic Ferry

The Strange Adventures of Prince Courageous

See America Thirst

How Could You, Caroline?

Those Who Dance

Sally of the Scandals

The Wampas Baby Stars of 1922

Chasing Rainbows

Alice Guy-Blaché

Over the Garden Wall

The Idle Rich

The Honor of Rameriz

Slave of Desire

The Purple Dawn

The Sea Lion

Young April

Human Wreckage

Reggie Mixes In

The Ghost Patrol

Penny of Top Hill Trail

Lovey Mary

Rubber Tires

The Midlanders

The Village Blacksmith

The Enchanted Barn

Going Crooked

The Aryan

Sundown

Bonnie May

The Great Adventure

A Fighting Colleen

The Eternal Three

New Brooms

The Little Boss

Wee Lady Betty

The American

The Silent Watcher

The Swell Head

The Vermilion Pencil

Cheerful Givers

The Sawdust Ring

The Flying Torpedo

The Swamp










