Eleanor Boardman

Birthday: 1898-08-18
Deathday: 1991-12-12
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Gender: Female
Owned By: Unowned

Olive Eleanor Boardman (August 19, 1898 – December 12, 1991) was an American film actress of the silent era.

Olive Eleanor Boardman was born on August 19, 1898, the youngest child to George W. Boardman and Janice Merriam "Jennie" Stockman Boardman. She had two older sisters named Merriam and Esther. In 1920, she was working as a contractor.

Educated in Philadelphia, Boardman originally acted on stage, but she lost her voice while starring in The National Anthem. She then entered a nationwide contest for new actors and actresses for silent films. She was chosen from among 1,000 competitors by Goldwyn Pictures as their "New Face of 1922". Her initial screen test was unsuccessful, but a second test resulted in a contract. After several successful supporting roles, she played the lead in Souls for Sale in 1923. That same year, Boardman's growing popularity was reflected by her inclusion on the list of WAMPAS Baby Stars.

She appeared in more than 30 films during her career, including director King Vidor's The Crowd (1928). Her performance in that film is widely recognized as one of the outstanding performances in American silent film. In 1932, after some success in sound films, she parted ways with MGM. Her final film was The Three Cornered Hat, which was made in Spain in 1935. After that production, she retired from acting and retreated from Hollywood. Her last appearances were in an interview filmed for Kevin Brownlow and David Gill's British documentary series Hollywood (1980) and the series MGM: When the Lion Roars (1992).

Credits

Year Title Character
1934-10-04 It Happened in Spain Magistrate's Wife
1931-07-21 The Squaw Man Lady Diana Kerhill
1931-01-24 The Great Meadow Diony Hall
1930-04-05 Redemption Lisa Protasoff
1930-03-09 Mamba Helen von Linden
1929-06-07 She Goes to War Joan Morant
1928-11-20 Show People Roxalanne in 'Bardeleys the Magnificent' (uncredited)
1928-05-05 Diamond Handcuffs Tillie
1928-03-03 The Crowd Mary Sims
1926-12-23 Tell It to the Marines Norma Dale
1926-09-30 Bardelys the Magnificent Roxalanne de Lavedan
1926-07-19 The Auction Block Lorelei Knight
1926-02-01 Memory Lane Mary
1925-11-22 The Only Thing Thyra, Princess of Svendborg
1925-10-04 Exchange of Wives Margaret Rathburn
1925-09-22 The Circle Elizabeth Cheney
1925-04-27 Proud Flesh Fernanda
1925-03-29 The Way of a Girl Rosamond
1924-12-01 The Wife of the Centaur Joan Converse
1924-11-26 So This Is Marriage? Beth Marsh
1924-11-24 The Silent Accuser Barbara Jane
1924-09-15 Wine of Youth Mary Hollister
1924-09-14 The Turmoil Mary Vertrees
1924-09-01 Sinners in Silk Penelope Stevens
1924-04-20 True As Steel Ethel Parry
1923-10-20 The Day of Faith Jane Maynard
1923-08-19 Three Wise Fools Rena Fairchild / Sydney Fairfield
1923-04-22 Souls for Sale Miss Remember Steddon
1923-02-25 Vanity Fair Amelia Sedley
1923-01-14 Gimme Clothilde Kingsley
1922-12-31 The Strangers' Banquet Jean McPherson