Lottie Lyell

Lottie Lyell
Lottie Lyell, Sydney circa 1919.
Born	Charlotte Edith Cox (1890-02-23)23 February 1890 Balmain, New South Wales, Australia
Died	21 December 1925(1925-12-21) (aged 35) Roseville, New South Wales, Australia
Other names	Lottie Lyell
Occupation	Actress, screenwriter, editor, film producer
Years active	1911–1925

Lottie Lyell (born Charlotte Edith Cox) (23 February 1890 – 21 December 1925) was an Australian actress, screenwriter, editor and filmmaker. She is regarded as Australia's first film star, and also contributed to the local industry during the silent era with her collaborations with Raymond Longford.

She was born in Balmain, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales in 1890. By 1912, Lyell had become romantically involved with Longford. The couple lived together in Brisbane and formed the most influential and pioneering partnerships in Australian cinema history. Although Longford was separated, his Catholic wife would not divorce him and he was never able to marry Lyell. Lyell fell ill with tuberculosis and died at her home in Roseville, North Sydney on 21 December 1925.

Charlotte Cox started her acting career at the age of 17. She took the stage name of Lottie Lyell, and in 1910 at age 20 had her theatre breakthrough, when she performed as Maggie Brown in An Englishman's Home. The travelling theatre company took Lyell on tour for the show and she performed across Australia, including Tasmania, and New Zealand. After visiting 85 towns, the tour ended when a flood held up the production in Murtoa, Victoria. Lyell's later theatre successes continued when she joined the Clark and Meynell Company.

The following year, Lyell exchanged live theatre for a new, modern medium – film. She debuted in Alfred Rolfe's Captain Midnight, The Bush King and by late 1911 her lead role in Raymond Longford's The Romantic Story of Margaret Catchpole (1911) transformed her into Australia's first international film star. The British magazine Punch wrote of the film, "This big film is the best that has been made in Australia".