Portrait of Norma Talmadge

Norma Talmadge

Acting

Biography

Norma Talmadge started her career in one-reelers in 1909 for Vitagraph, playing bit roles as a young teenager starting. As she continually worked at the studio over the next several years, her parts grew until she frequently started as the leading lady. Her young promising career got a huge boost after her marriage to exhibitor Joseph M. Schenck. Together, they formed the Norma Talmadge Film Corporation in 1917 and began producing Star vechiles for Talmadge. Specializing in melodramas and woman’s pictures, Talmadge became one of the biggest stars of the 1920s, starting in hits such as Smilin’ Through, Secrets, The Lady, and Kiki. With her star already fading when the talkie revolution swept Hollywood, Talmadge made just two sound films before retiring from the screen. Although largely forgotten today, Talmadge was a pioneering producer and director who stood as one of the most popular and powerful women in early Hollywood.

Born: May 26, 1894

Place of Birth: Jersey City, New Jersey, USA

Filmography

1942
Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)

as Self (archive footage)

1930
Du Barry, Woman of Passion

as Madame Du Barry

1929
New York Nights

as Jill Deverne

1928
Show People

as Self (uncredited)

1928
The Woman Disputed

as Mary Ann Wagner

1927
The Dove

as Dolores

1927
Camille

as Marguerite Gautier (Camille)

1926
Kiki

as Kiki

1925
Graustark

as Princess Yetive

1925
The Lady

as Polly Pearl

1924
The Only Woman

as Helen Brinsley

1924
Secrets

as Mary Carlton

1923
The Song of Love

as Noorma-hal

1923
Ashes of Vengeance

as Yolande de Breux

1923
Within the Law

as Mary Turner

1923
The Voice from the Minaret

as Lady Adrienne Carlyle

1922
1922
The Eternal Flame

as Duchesse de Langeais

1922
Smilin' Through

as Kathleen / Moonyeen

1921
Love's Redemption

as Jennie Dobson (aka Ginger)

1921
The Wonderful Thing

as Jacqueline Laurentine Boggs

1921
The Sign on the Door

as Ann Hunniwell / Mrs. 'Lafe' Regan

1921
The Passion Flower

as Acacia, The Passion Flower

1920
The Branded Woman

as Ruth Sawyer

1920
Yes or No

as Margaret Vane / Minnie Berry

1920
The Woman Gives

as Inga Sonderson

1920
A Daughter of Two Worlds

as Jennie Malone

1920
She Loves and Lies

as Marie Callender, aka Marie Max and June Dayne

1919
The Isle of Conquest

as Ethel Harmon

1919
The Way of a Woman

as Nancy Lee

1919
The Probation Wife

as Josephine Mowbray

1919
The New Moon

as Princess Marie Pavlovna

1919
1918
The Forbidden City

as San San / Toy

1918
Her Only Way

as Lucille Westbrook

1918
De Luxe Annie

as Julie Kendal (De Luxe Annie II)

1918
By Right of Purchase

as Margot Hughes

1918
The Ghosts of Yesterday

as Ruth Graham / Jeanne La Fleur

1917
The Moth

as Lucy Gillam

1917
Poppy

as Poppy Destinn

1917
The Law of Compensation

as Flora Graham / Ruth Graham

1917
Panthea

as Panthea Romoff

1916
Fifty-Fifty

as Naomi Harmon

1916
The Devil's Needle

as Renee Duprez

1916
Going Straight

as Grace Remington

1916
1916
The Missing Links

as Myra Holburn

1915
The Battle Cry of Peace

as Virginia Vandergriff

1915
1914
John Rance, Gentleman

as Lesbia Vane

1914
Sawdust and Salome

as Mary - a Circus Rider

1913
Father's Hatband

as Doris Mason - the Daughter

1913
An Old Man's Love Story

as Ethel Marsham

1913
1913
Vampire of the Desert

as Ethel - Derrick's Fiancée

1913
1912
His Official Appointment

as The Secretary of State's Daughter

1912
1912
Fortunes of a Composer

as The Musician's Daughter

1912
Mrs. 'Enry 'Awkins

as Liza - Mrs. 'Enry 'Awkins

1911
A Tale of Two Cities

as (Mimi) Woman on the way to guillotine