Mary Pickford (Gladys Smith) was born on April 8th, 1892 in Toronto, Canada. Her Father was an alcoholic, and died shortly after abandoning his family. To avoid financial ruin, Mary's Mother Charlotte got Mary and her Sister Lottie and Brother Jack, into showbusiness. Mary was a great success and appeared on Broadway under the management of David-Belasco who changed her name to Mary Pickford.

 

Even though of her stage success, money was still tight so she decided to go into the fledgling movie industry. She went to the Biograph company on 14th Street in N. Y., and met Director D. W. Griffith who put her to work for him in 1908. Mary was a success, and by 1910 she was known as the leading lady of Biograph. Mary's friends Lillian and Dorothy Gish visited her at Biograph and they also were soon Working there, too. Lillian soon became more popular than Mary, and soon after Mary married Biograph leading man Owen Moore, and left  Biograph in 1912.

 

After Mary left Biograph, she was under several different contracts to studios trying to get more and more money. In 1917 she went on tour to sell Liberty Bonds during World War I, where she met her future husband, Douglas Fairbanks, the swash-buckling matinee idol. In 1919 she, along with Douglas Fairbanks, Director D. W. Griffith, and comedian Charlie Chaplin, formed Untied Artists Pictures.

 

 

Mary and Douglas named their home Pickfair, combining their names. Pickfair became the party palace of Los Angeles. They traveled the world together and seemed like the ideal couple. Unfortunately, they separated in 1929 and were divorced in 1936. In 1937 Mary married actor Charles "BUDDY" Rogers.