Bessie Love

Acting · 1.0 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

Reds

19816.9

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages

19167.1

The Barefoot Contessa

19546.7

Vampyres

19746.0

Stranded

1916

Ragtime

19817.0

The Lost World

19256.7

I'll Never Forget What's'isname

19675.4

Sunday Bloody Sunday

19716.6

The Ritz

19766.0

Soul-Fire

192510.0

The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone

19616.9

The Broadway Melody

19295.2

Nowhere to Go

19586.6

Children of the Damned

19646.1

Catlow

19715.1

Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché

20187.3

Gentle Julia

19239.0

The Magic Box

19526.5

No Highway in the Sky

19517.0

The Story of Esther Costello

19577.0

Dress Parade

19277.2

Isadora

19686.2

The Hollywood Revue of 1929

19295.9

Promise Her Anything

19664.1

St. Elmo

19237.0

Slave of Desire

192310.0

Pegeen

19209.0

Gareth Hughes

2000

The Good Bad-Man

19166.2

Gulliver's Travels

19775.6

The Weak and the Wicked

19546.5

Souls for Sale

19236.3

Mousey

19745.2

Anybody Here Seen Kelly?

19288.0

A Daughter of the Poor

1917

Torment

192410.0

Those Who Dance

192410.0

The Idle Rich

19296.6

Battle Beneath the Earth

19674.8

Cupid Forecloses

19199.0

The King On Main Street

19257.3

The Matinee Idol

19286.6

Atlantic Ferry

19416.6

Conspiracy

19304.9

Edward & Mrs. Simpson

197810.0

Polly Ann

1917

Forget Me Not

19229.0

The Enchanted Barn

191910.0

Round About Hollywood

19316.0

Journey Together

19456.6

Touch and Go

19556.6

The Ghost Patrol

19237.0

The Flying Torpedo

1916

A Fighting Colleen

19199.0

The Sawdust Ring

19175.0

The Wild Affair

19655.3

A Little Sister of Everybody

1918

Mary of the Movies

19238.0

I Think They Call Him John

19646.8

The Girl in the Show

19296.0

Going Crooked

192610.0

Night Life in Hollywood

19227.0

The Spirit of the Lake

19218.0

The Purple Dawn

19238.0

Carolyn of the Corners

1919

Too Young to Love

19607.1

The Village Blacksmith

19225.3

Alice Guy-Blaché

1997

A Sister of Six

19167.5

Good News

19306.3

The Silent Watcher

192410.0

The Woman on the Jury

19249.0

A Yankee Princess

19199.0

Chasing Rainbows

19306.0

Human Wreckage

19237.0

Bonnie May

19207.0

The Aryan

19165.5

The Mystery of the Leaping Fish

19165.9

The Eternal Three

19238.0

Acquitted

1916

The Dawn of Understanding

1918

See America Thirst

19307.0

The Heiress at Coffee Dan's

1916

Young April

19267.7

The Midlanders

192010.0

Dynamite Smith

192410.0

The Wampas Baby Stars of 1922

1922

Deserted at the Altar

19227.0

The Pistol

19657.0

New Brooms

19257.0

How Could You, Caroline?

1918

The Strange Adventures of Prince Courageous

1923

Penny of Top Hill Trail

192110.0

The Song and Dance Man

19267.0

A Son of His Father

19259.0

Bulldog Courage

19228.0

Rubber Tires

19276.3

The American

19277.0

The Swamp

19218.0

Hell-to-Pay Austin

1916

Next to No Time

19587.7

The Sea Lion

19215.8

The Great Adventure

1918

Tongues of Flame

19247.0

Morals for Women

19314.1

Lovey Mary

19268.0

The Wishing Ring Man

191910.0

The Little Boss

191910.0

A Harp in Hock

19277.0

The Honor of Rameriz

192110.0

The Vermilion Pencil

192210.0

Wee Lady Betty

1917

Nina, the Flower Girl

1917

Sundown

19248.0

Cheerful Givers

1917

Over the Garden Wall

19199.0

Sally of the Scandals

192810.0

Reggie Mixes In

19165.8

They Learned About Women

19304.8

Three Who Paid

19239.0

London Scrapbook

19426.5

Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 12

1922

The Swell Head

1928