Dorothy Gibson

Dorothy Gibson
Gibson in a 1911 publicity photo
Born	Dorothy Winifred Brown (1889-05-17)May 17, 1889 Hoboken, New Jersey, United States
Died	February 17, 1946(1946-02-17) (aged 56) Paris, France
Occupation	Model, actress and singer
Years active	1906–1917

Dorothy Gibson (May 17, 1889 – February 17, 1946) was a pioneering American silent film actress, artist's model and singer active in the early 20th century. She is best remembered as a survivor of the sinking of the Titanic and for starring in the first motion picture based on the disaster.

Dorothy Gibson was born on May 17, 1889 to John A. Brown and Pauline Caroline Boesen as Dorothy Winifred Brown in Hoboken, New Jersey. Her father died when she was three years old, and her mother married John Leonard Gibson. Between 1906 and 1911, she appeared on stage as a singer and dancer in a number of theatre and vaudeville productions, the most important being on Broadway in Charles Frohman's musical The Dairymaids (1907). She was also a regular chorus member in shows produced by the Shubert Brothers at the Hippodrome Theatre.

In 1909, the year before she married George Henry Battier, Jr., Dorothy Gibson began posing for famous commercial artist Harrison Fisher, becoming one of his favorite models. Dorothy's image appeared regularly on posters, postcards, various merchandising products and in book illustrations over the next three years. Fisher also often chose her likeness for the covers of best-selling magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Ladies Home Journal, and the Saturday Evening Post. Dorothy was widely publicized during this time as "The Original Harrison Fisher Girl".

Meanwhile, Dorothy separated from Battier, though the couple was not divorced until 1913.

Represented by top theatrical agent Pat Casey, Dorothy entered movies in early 1911, joining the Independent Moving Pictures Company (IMP) as an extra and later the Lubin Studios as a stock player. She was hired as leading lady by the new U.S. branch of Paris-based Éclair Studios in July 1911. She was an instant hit with audiences, becoming one of the first actresses in the new medium of film to be promoted as a "star" in her own right. Praised for a natural, subtle acting style, she was particularly effective as a comedian in such popular one-reelers as Miss Masquerader (1911) and Love Finds a Way (1912), all of which were produced at Fort Lee, New Jersey, then the center of the burgeoning American motion picture industry.