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Lillian Gish

Actor

Lillian Gish

Born October 14, 1893 in Springfield, Ohio, USADied February 27, 1993110 films

Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893 – February 27, 1993) was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987.

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She was a prominent film star of the 1910s and 1920s, particularly associated with the films of director D.W. Griffith, including her leading role in Griffith's seminal Birth of a Nation (1915). Her sound-era film appearances were sporadic, but included memorable roles in the controversial western Duel in the Sun (1946) and the offbeat thriller Night of the Hunter (1955). She did considerable television work from the early 1950s into the 1980s, and closed her career playing, for the first time, opposite Bette Davis in the 1987 film The Whales of August.

The American Film Institute (AFI) named Gish 17th among the greatest female stars of all time. She was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 1971, and in 1984 she received an AFI Life Achievement Award.

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The best way into Lillian Gish's work
The Night of the Hunter posterFirst watchThe Night of the Hunter19557.9as Rachel CooperIn Depression-era West Virginia, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whereabouts of a stash of money.View film

Essential films

Ranked by acclaim and reach
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages poster7.1Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages1916Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl poster6.9Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl1919The Birth of a Nation poster5.9The Birth of a Nation1915The Wind poster7.3The Wind1928Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ poster7.3Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ1925Portrait of Jennie poster7.2Portrait of Jennie1948Duel in the Sun poster6.4Duel in the Sun1946The Unforgiven poster6.2The Unforgiven1960

Filmography

110 films as actor
  1. 2011Night Hunter
  2. 2002D.W. Griffith - Years of Discovery 1909-1913
  3. 1987The Whales of AugustSarah Webber
  4. 1986Sweet LibertyCecelia Burgess
  5. 1986The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnMrs Loftus
  6. 1983Hobson's ChoiceMiss Molly Winkle
  7. 1983Hambone and HillieHillie Radcliffe
  8. 1981Thin IceGrandmother
  9. 1978A WeddingNettie Sloan
  10. 1978SparrowWidow
  11. 1976Twin DetectivesBilly Jo Haskins
  12. 1969Arsenic and Old LaceMartha Brewster
  13. 1967The ComediansMrs. Smith
  14. 1967Warning ShotAlice Willows
  15. 1966Follow Me, Boys!Hetty Seibert
  16. 1961The Spiral StaircaseMrs. Warren
  17. 1960The UnforgivenMattilda Zachary
  18. 1958Orders to KillMrs. Summers
  19. 1955The Night of the HunterRachel Cooper
  20. 1955The CobwebVictoria Inch
  21. 1953The Trip to BountifulCarrie Watts
  22. 1948Portrait of JennieMother Mary of Mercy
  23. 1946Duel in the SunLaura Belle McCanles
  24. 1946Miss Susie Slagle'sMiss Susie Slagle
  25. 1943Top ManBeth Warren
  26. 1942Commandos Strike at DawnMrs. Bergesen
  27. 1933His Double LifeAlice Chalice
  28. 1930One Romantic NightPrincess Alexandra
  29. 1928The WindLetty
  30. 1927The EnemyPauli Arndt
  31. 1927Annie LaurieAnnie Laurie
  32. 1927The Scarlet LetterHester Prynne
  33. 1926La BohèmeMimi
  34. 1925Ben-Hur: A Tale of the ChristChariot Race Spectator (uncredited)
  35. 1924RomolaRomola
  36. 1923The White SisterAngela Chiaromonte
  37. 1922From Farm to FameLillian Gish
  38. 1921Orphans of the StormHenriette Girard
  39. 1920Way Down EastAnna Moore
  40. 1919The Greatest QuestionNellie Jarvis
  41. 1919True Heart SusieSusie May Trueheart
  42. 1919Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the GirlLucy Burrows
  43. 1919A Romance of Happy ValleyJennie Timberlake
  44. 1918The Greatest Thing in LifeJeannette Peret
  45. 1918Lillian Gish in a Liberty Loan Appeal
  46. 1918The Great LoveSusie Broadplains
  47. 1918Hearts of the WorldThe Girl - Marie Stephenson
  48. 1917Souls TriumphantLillian Vale
  49. 1916The House Built Upon SandEvelyn Dare
  50. 1916The Children PayMillicent
  51. 1916Diane of the FolliesDiane
  52. 1916Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the AgesThe Woman Who Rocks the Cradle
  53. 1916An Innocent MagdaleneDorothy Raleigh
  54. 1916Sold for MarriageMarfa
  55. 1916Daphne and the PirateDaphne La Tour
  56. 1916Pathways of Life
  57. 1915The Lily and the RoseMary Randolph
  58. 1915Captain MacklinBeatrice
  59. 1915Enoch ArdenAnnie Lee
  60. 1915The Lost HouseDosia Dale
  61. 1915The Birth of a NationStoneman's Daughter Elsie
  62. 1915His LessonParticipant in Mob Scene (uncredited)
  63. 1914The SistersMay
  64. 1914The Folly of AnneAnne
  65. 1914The Tear That BurnedAnita - the Truant
  66. 1914Man's EnemyGrace Lisle
  67. 1914The Angel of ContentionNettie - the Angel
  68. 1914The Rebellion of Kitty BelleKitty Belle
  69. 1914Lord ChumleyEleanor Butterworth
  70. 1914Home, Sweet HomePayne's Sweetheart
  71. 1914The Quicksands
  72. 1914The HunchbackThe Orphan - as an Adult
  73. 1914The Battle of the SexesJane Andrews, the daughter
  74. 1914Judith of BethuliaThe Young Mother
  75. 1914The Green-Eyed DevilMary Miller
  76. 1914A Duel for Love
  77. 1913The Conscience of Hassan BeyThe Rugmaker's Daughter
  78. 1913The Battle at Elderbush GulchMelissa Harlow
  79. 1913The Blue or the Gray
  80. 1913Madonna of the StormThe Mother
  81. 1913So Runs the WayFred's Wife
  82. 1913A Modest HeroThe Wife
  83. 1913A Woman in the UltimateVerda
  84. 1913An Indian's LoyaltyThe Ranchero's Daughter
  85. 1913During the Round-UpThe Ranchero's Daughter
  86. 1913The Mothering HeartThe Wife
  87. 1913A Timely InterceptionThe Farmer's Daughter
  88. 1913Just GoldThe First Brother's Sweetheart
  89. 1913The House of DarknessThe Nurse
  90. 1913The Lady and the MouseThe First Sister
  91. 1913The Left-Handed ManThe Old Soldier's Daughter
  92. 1913A Misunderstood BoyThe Daughter
  93. 1913The Little TeaseGirl in bandana
  94. 1913The Stolen Bride
  95. 1913The Unwelcome GuestAt Auction (uncredited)
  96. 1913Oil and WaterIn First Audience (uncredited)
  97. 1912A Cry for HelpThe Maid
  98. 1912The Burglar’s DilemmaBirthday Wellwisher
  99. 1912The New York HatCustomer in Shop / Outside Church
  100. 1912BrutalityAt Theatre
  101. 1912The InformerWalk on role
  102. 1912My Baby
  103. 1912Gold and GlitterThe Young Woman
  104. 1912The Musketeers of Pig AlleyThe Little Lady
  105. 1912The Painted LadyBelle at Ice Cream Festival
  106. 1912The One She Loved
  107. 1912In the Aisles of the WildThe Younger Daughter
  108. 1912So Near, Yet So FarA Friend
  109. 1912Two Daughters of EveIn Theatre Crowd
  110. 1912An Unseen EnemyEldest Sister