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Enid Bennett

Enid Bennett

Born: 1893-07-14 • York, Western Australia, Australia

From Wikipedia

Born in York, Western Australia, Enid Bennett started her film acting career in 1916, first starring in Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford, with two other films that same year. She married American director Sidney Franklin early in her career, but they were divorced shortly thereafter.

In 1917, she starred in five films, the most important of which was The Little Brother opposite William Garwood. That film brought her to the attention of studios and led to an increasing number of acting roles. From 1918 to 1921, she starred in twenty-three films, becoming well known and recognizable as an actress. In 1918 she married director Fred Niblo, who later directed the second film version of Ben Hur. In 1922, she starred in only three films, but one of those became her most famous role, the female lead of "Maid Marian" in Robin Hood with Douglas Fairbanks.

From 1923 to 1928, she starred in only ten films, as her career had slowed to a crawl. She was a mother by that time, as she and Niblo eventually had three children together.

In 1929, her brother Alexander Bennett married actress Frances Lee. The wedding was attended by some of Hollywood's biggest names, including Gloria Swanson and Greta Garbo. That year Bennett starred in only one film, Good Medicine, opposite Edward Everett Horton.

Bennett's sisters Marjorie (1896-1982) and Catherine (1901–1978) were also Hollywood film actresses.

She made a semi-successful transition to sound films, but saw fewer roles come her way. From 1931 to 1941 she had roles in only seven films, the last of which was uncredited.

She retired after 1941, eventually residing with her family in Malibu, California, where she died in 1969 from a heart attack, aged 75.

Filmography
The Big Store poster
The Big Store
1941 • Clerk (uncredited)
Strike Up the Band poster
Strike Up the Band
1940 • Mrs. Morgan
Meet Dr. Christian poster
Meet Dr. Christian
1939 • Anne Hewitt
Intermezzo: A Love Story poster
Intermezzo: A Love Story
1939 • Greta Stenborg
Sooky poster
Sooky
1931 • Helen Skinner
Waterloo Bridge poster
Waterloo Bridge
1931 • Mary Cronin Wetherby
Skippy poster
Skippy
1931 • Ellen Skinner
The Flag: A Story Inspired by the Tradition of Betsy Ross poster
The Flag: A Story Inspired by the Tradition of Betsy Ross
1927 • Betsy Ross
The Wrong Mr. Wright poster
The Wrong Mr. Wright
1927 • Henrietta
The Red Lily poster
The Red Lily
1924 • Marise La Noue
The Sea Hawk poster
The Sea Hawk
1924 • Lady Rosamund Godolphin
The Courtship of Miles Standish poster
The Courtship of Miles Standish
1923 • Priscilla Mullens
The Bad Man poster
The Bad Man
1923 • Mrs. Morgan Pell
Strangers of the Night poster
Strangers of the Night
1923 • Poppy Faire
Your Friend and Mine poster
Your Friend and Mine
1923 • Patricia Stanton
No Image
Scandalous Tongues
1922 • Nell Bradley
Robin Hood poster
Robin Hood
1922 • Lady Marian Fitzwalter
No Image
The Bootlegger's Daughter
1922 • Nell Bradley
Silk Hosiery poster
Silk Hosiery
1920 • Marjorie Bowen
No Image
Her Husband's Friend
1920 • Judith Westover
Screen Snapshots (Series 1, No. 7) poster
Screen Snapshots (Series 1, No. 7)
1920 • self
A Trip Through the World's Greatest Motion Picture Studios poster
A Trip Through the World's Greatest Motion Picture Studios
1920 • Herself
The False Road poster
The False Road
1920 • Betty Palmer
The Woman in the Suitcase poster
The Woman in the Suitcase
1920 • Mary Moreland
The Haunted Bedroom poster
The Haunted Bedroom
1919 • Betsy Thorne
What Every Woman Learns poster
What Every Woman Learns
1919 • Amy Fortesque
Stepping Out poster
Stepping Out
1919 • Mrs. Robert Hillary
The Virtuous Thief poster
The Virtuous Thief
1919 • Shirley Armitage
The Law of Men poster
The Law of Men
1919 • Laura Dayne
Partners Three poster
Partners Three
1919 • Agnes Cuyler
Happy Though Married poster
Happy Though Married
1919 • Millicent Lee
Fuss and Feathers poster
Fuss and Feathers
1918 • Susie Baldwin
When Do We Eat? poster
When Do We Eat?
1918 • Nora
The Marriage Ring poster
The Marriage Ring
1918 • Anne Mertons
No Image
Coals of Fire
1918 • Nell Bradley
The Vamp poster
The Vamp
1918 • Nancy Lyons
A Desert Wooing poster
A Desert Wooing
1918 • Avice Bereton
The Biggest Show on Earth poster
The Biggest Show on Earth
1918 • Roxie Kemp
The Keys of the Righteous poster
The Keys of the Righteous
1918 • Mary Manning
No Image
The Mother Instinct
1917 • Eleanor Coutierre
The Girl, Glory poster
The Girl, Glory
1917 • Glory Wharton
Happiness poster
Happiness
1917 • Doris Wingate
The Little Brother poster
The Little Brother
1917 • Jerry Ross
No Image
Princess of the Dark
1917 • Fay Herron
The Aryan poster
The Aryan
1916 • Undetermined Secondary Role
No Image
Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford
— • Fanny