profile image

Marguerite De La Motte

Jun 22, 1902 - Mar 10, 1950 (47 years old) in Duluth, Minnesota, USA

Marguerite De La Motte (June 22, 1902 – March 10, 1950) was an American film actress, most notably of the silent film era.

Born in Duluth, Minnesota, De La Motte was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph De La Motte. She was a 1917 graduate of the Egan School of drama, music, and dancing.

De La Motte began her entertainment career studying ballet under Anna Pavlova. In 1919, she became the dance star of Sid Grauman on the stage of his theater. In 1918, at the age of 16, she made her screen debut in the Douglas Fairbanks-directed romantic comedy film Arizona. In 1920, both of her parents died, her mother in January in an automobile accident and her father in August from heart disease. Film producer J.L. Frothingham assumed guardianship of her and her younger brother.

De La Motte spent the 1920s appearing in numerous films, often cast by Douglas Fairbanks to play opposite him in swashbuckling adventure films such as 1920's The Mark of Zorro and The Three Musketeers. She developed a close friendship with Fairbanks and his wife, actress Mary Pickford. Her career as an actress slowed dramatically at the end of the silent film era of the 1920s. She did continue acting in bit parts through the sound era and made her final appearance in the 1942 film Overland Mail opposite both Noah Beery Sr. and Noah Beery Jr., as well as Lon Chaney Jr.

After her film career ended, De La Motte worked as an inspector in a southern California war plant during World War II. Later she came to San Francisco, California, where she worked in the Red Cross office.

On February 8, 1960, De La Motte was awarded a star in the Motion Pictures section of the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6902 Hollywood Blvd., in Hollywood, California.

Known For

poster
Shadow Ranch
Ruth Cameron
poster
The Three Musketeers
Constance
poster
Richard the Lion-Hearted
Lady Edith Plantagenet
poster
The Pagan God
Beryl Addison
poster
Josselyn's Wife
Lizzie
poster
The Final Extra
Ruth Collins
poster
Daughters Who Pay
Sonia Borisoff / Margaret Smith
poster
The Unknown Soldier
Mary Phillips
poster
What a Wife Learned
Sheila Dorne
poster
Those Who Dare
Marjorie

Credits

Images

image
image
image