Actress. Known as "The Biograph Girl," and the first movie "star" known to the public by name. She made her stage debut at the age of three with a stock company run by her mother, Lotta Lawrence, and continued to appear billed as "Baby Florence, the Child Wonder." After unsuccessfully trying for Broadway parts, she was hired by the Edison Company in 1906. She went on to join the Vitagraph Company in 1907, where actress Florence Turner had become famous as "The Vitagraph Girl." Lawrence persuaded D.W. Griffith to hire her for Biograph, where she became "The Biograph Girl." She moved to Carl Laemmle's Independent Motion Picture Company in 1909 to become "The IMP Girl" (Biograph's subsequent attempts to instill a new "Biograph Girl" failed dismally, and even a spurious but widely circulated 1910 press story from unknown sources claiming that the original "Biograph Girl" had died were unsuccessful). She made dozens of shorts for IMP over the following two years, and in 1912 set up a deal with Laemmle to form their own company with studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey. In 1915 she was seriously injured while shooting a stunt on a burning staircase, affecting her physically and mentally and leaving her with back problems, facial scarring and temporary paralysis. She made many attempts at a comeback, resorting to plastic surgery in the 1920s to try to improve her appearance. In 1936, she was hired by MGM, which was attempting to revive past stars, though mostly in bit parts. She received just $75 a week. She died without ever regaining her former fame, after ingesting a lethal mixture of cough syrup and ant paste. Her grave remained unmarked for many years after her interment.
Actress. Known as "The Biograph Girl," and the first movie "star" known to the public by name. She made her stage debut at the age of three with a stock company run by her mother, Lotta Lawrence, and continued to appear billed as "Baby Florence, the Child Wonder." After unsuccessfully trying for Broadway parts, she was hired by the Edison Company in 1906. She went on to join the Vitagraph Company in 1907, where actress Florence Turner had become famous as "The Vitagraph Girl." Lawrence persuaded D.W. Griffith to hire her for Biograph, where she became "The Biograph Girl." She moved to Carl Laemmle's Independent Motion Picture Company in 1909 to become "The IMP Girl" (Biograph's subsequent attempts to instill a new "Biograph Girl" failed dismally, and even a spurious but widely circulated 1910 press story from unknown sources claiming that the original "Biograph Girl" had died were unsuccessful). She made dozens of shorts for IMP over the following two years, and in 1912 set up a deal with Laemmle to form their own company with studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey. In 1915 she was seriously injured while shooting a stunt on a burning staircase, affecting her physically and mentally and leaving her with back problems, facial scarring and temporary paralysis. She made many attempts at a comeback, resorting to plastic surgery in the 1920s to try to improve her appearance. In 1936, she was hired by MGM, which was attempting to revive past stars, though mostly in bit parts. She received just $75 a week. She died without ever regaining her former fame, after ingesting a lethal mixture of cough syrup and ant paste. Her grave remained unmarked for many years after her interment.
Bio by: Mount Hope NY
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FLORENCE LAWRENCE
"THE BIOGRAPH GIRL"
THE FIRST MOVIE STAR
1890 — 1938
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