Florence Lawrence

Florence Lawrence
in 1908
Born	Florence Annie Bridgwood January 2, 1890 Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Died	December 28, 1938 (aged 48) Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Suicide by poison
Resting place	Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Other names	The First Movie Star Biograph Girl The Imp Girl
Spouse(s)	Harry Solter (m. 1908; d. 1920) Charles Woodring (m. 1921; div. 1932) Henry Bolton (m. 1933; div. 1934)

Florence Lawrence (January 2, 1890 – December 28, 1938) was a Canadian-American stage performer and film actress. She is often referred to as "The First Movie Star", and was the first film actor to be named publicly. At the height of her fame in the 1910s, she was known as "The Biograph Girl" for work as one of the leading ladies in Biograph Studios motion pictures. She appeared in almost 300 films for various motion picture companies throughout her career.

Born Florence Annie Bridgwood in Hamilton, Ontario, she was youngest of three children of George Bridgwood, an English-born carriage builder and Charlotte "Lotta" Bridgwood (née Dunn), a vaudeville actress. Charlotte Bridgwood had emigrated to Canada from Ireland after the Great Famine with her family as a child. She was known professionally as Lotta Lawrence and was the leading lady and director of the Lawrence Dramatic Company. At the age of three, Lawrence made her debut onstage with her mother in a song and dance routine. When she was old enough to memorize lines of dialogue, she performed with her mother and other members of the Lawrence Dramatic Company in dramatic plays. After performing tear jerking dramas like Dora Thorne and East Lynne began to depress Lawrence, her mother dropped them from the company's repertoire. While Lawrence performed on stage at the behest of her mother, she recalled that she enjoyed the work but did not like the traveling that all vaudeville performers were required to do. By the age of six, Lawrence had earned the nickname "Baby Flo, the Child Wonder".

On February 18, 1898, George Bridgwood died from accidental coal gas poisoning at his home in Hamilton (Lawrence's parents had been separated since she was four years old). Lotta Lawrence moved the family from Hamilton to Buffalo, New York to live with her mother, Ann Dunn. She chose to stop bringing her children along for stage performances and for the first time, Florence was enrolled in school. After graduating, Lawrence rejoined her mother's dramatic company. However, her mother disbanded the Lawrence Dramatic Company shortly thereafter; the two moved to New York City around 1906.

She was one of several Canadian pioneers in the film industry who were attracted by the rapid growth of the fledgling motion picture business. In 1906, she appeared in her first motion picture. The next year, she appeared in 38 movies for the Vitagraph film company. During the spring and summer of 1906, Lawrence auditioned for a number of Broadway productions, with no success. However, on December 27, 1906, she was hired by the Edison Manufacturing Company to play Daniel Boone's daughter in Daniel Boone; or, Pioneer days in America. She got the part because she knew how to ride a horse. Both she and her mother received parts, and were paid five dollars a day for two weeks of outdoor filming in freezing weather.

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