Bessie Love

Acting · 0.6 popularity

Age

127

Movies

127

Born: September 9, 1898 – April 26, 1986
From: Midland, Texas, USA

Biography

Bessie Love (born Juanita Horton, September 10, 1898 - April 26, 1986) became one of the most recognizable faces of early American cinema. After her family moved to Los Angeles, she was sent to Biograph Studios, where legendary director D.W. Griffith noticed her talent and cast her in several films, including Intolerance (1916). During the silent era, she gained popularity for her lively, wholesome screen presence and worked with major stars such as Douglas Fairbanks. Her career soared in the 1920s, and she was named a WAMPAS Baby Star in 1922, marking her as one of Hollywood’s most promising young actresses. Love made a successful transition to sound films—something many silent stars struggled with. Her performance as Hank Mahoney in The Broadway Melody (1929) earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, cementing her place in film history. In the 1930s, she moved to the United Kingdom, where she continued acting in film, theatre, radio, and later television. Her career ultimately spanned from 1915 to 1983, making her one of the longest‑working performers of her generation. She died on April 26, 1986, in London at age 87.

Works

127 films

On Her Majesty's Secret Service

19696.6

The Hunger

19836.7

Lady Chatterley's Lover

19815.4

The Barefoot Contessa

19546.7

Reds

19816.9

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages

19167.1

Stranded

1916

Vampyres

19746.0

Sunday Bloody Sunday

19716.6

I'll Never Forget What's'isname

19675.4

Ragtime

19817.0

The Lost World

19256.7

Children of the Damned

19646.1

Soul-Fire

192510.0

Isadora

19686.2

Nowhere to Go

19586.6

The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone

19616.9

The Broadway Melody

19295.2

The Ritz

19766.0

The Magic Box

19526.5

The Story of Esther Costello

19577.0

No Highway in the Sky

19517.0

Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché

20187.3

The Hollywood Revue of 1929

19295.9

Gentle Julia

19239.0

Catlow

19715.1

Dress Parade

19277.2

Those Who Dance

192410.0

Souls for Sale

19236.3

St. Elmo

19237.0

Torment

192410.0

Pegeen

19209.0

The Good Bad-Man

19166.2

The Matinee Idol

19286.6

The King On Main Street

19257.3

Edward & Mrs. Simpson

197810.0

The Idle Rich

19296.6

Gulliver's Travels

19775.6

Anybody Here Seen Kelly?

19288.0

Atlantic Ferry

19416.6

Gareth Hughes

2000

Promise Her Anything

19664.1

Cupid Forecloses

19199.0

Slave of Desire

192310.0

The Ghost Patrol

19237.0

The Spirit of the Lake

19218.0

Polly Ann

1917

Round About Hollywood

19316.0

The Weak and the Wicked

19546.5

Touch and Go

19556.6

The Enchanted Barn

191910.0

The Sawdust Ring

19175.0

Conspiracy

19304.9

Battle Beneath the Earth

19674.8

See America Thirst

19307.0

Mousey

19745.2

Night Life in Hollywood

19227.0

I Think They Call Him John

19646.8

A Daughter of the Poor

1917

A Little Sister of Everybody

1918

The Aryan

19165.5

A Fighting Colleen

19199.0

Journey Together

19456.6

Forget Me Not

19229.0

Human Wreckage

19237.0

The Village Blacksmith

19225.3

Good News

19306.3

The Wampas Baby Stars of 1922

1922

Alice Guy-Blaché

1997

Too Young to Love

19607.1

The Purple Dawn

19238.0

The Wild Affair

19655.3

The Silent Watcher

192410.0

The Woman on the Jury

19249.0

The Dawn of Understanding

1918

The Girl in the Show

19296.0

The Sea Lion

19215.8

The Song and Dance Man

19267.0

How Could You, Caroline?

1918

Carolyn of the Corners

1919

The Eternal Three

19238.0

Next to No Time

19587.7

The Vermilion Pencil

192210.0

A Sister of Six

19167.5

A Son of His Father

19259.0

Acquitted

1916

The Mystery of the Leaping Fish

19165.9

A Yankee Princess

19199.0

The Honor of Rameriz

192110.0

Bulldog Courage

19228.0

The Midlanders

192010.0

Mary of the Movies

19238.0

Sally of the Scandals

192810.0

Young April

19267.7

They Learned About Women

19304.8

Dynamite Smith

192410.0

The American

19277.0

The Pistol

19657.0

The Heiress at Coffee Dan's

1916

The Little Boss

191910.0

Bonnie May

19207.0

Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 12

1922

Hell-to-Pay Austin

1916

Rubber Tires

19276.3

Sundown

19248.0

Penny of Top Hill Trail

192110.0

Chasing Rainbows

19306.0

New Brooms

19257.0

Reggie Mixes In

19165.8

Three Who Paid

19239.0

The Flying Torpedo

1916

Tongues of Flame

19247.0

The Wishing Ring Man

191910.0

Lovey Mary

19268.0

The Great Adventure

1918

Deserted at the Altar

19227.0

Nina, the Flower Girl

1917

Going Crooked

192610.0

Morals for Women

19314.1

A Harp in Hock

19277.0

Cheerful Givers

1917

London Scrapbook

19426.5

Over the Garden Wall

19199.0

The Strange Adventures of Prince Courageous

1923

The Swamp

19218.0

Wee Lady Betty

1917

The Swell Head

1928