Lois Wilson

Lois Wilson was an American actress of the silent era who also directed two short films and wrote scenarios. Raised in Alabama after her family left Pittsburgh, she trained as a school teacher before a beauty contest sponsored by Universal Studios and the Birmingham News brought her to California in 1915. Small roles at the Victor Film Company followed, then Lois Weber gave her a part in The Dumb Girl of Portici and groomed her for leads. She settled at Paramount Pictures in 1919 and stayed until 1927, playing romantic leads and character parts and appearing in some 150 movies. Her best known portrayals were Molly Wingate in The Covered Wagon (1923) and Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby (1926). Named a WAMPAS Baby Star in 1922, she moved into sound but grew unhappy with 1930s roles and retired in 1941, later working on Broadway and in television soap operas including The Guiding Light.