Actor
· Acting
Bessie Love
Born 1898-09-09
Died 1986-04-26
📍 Midland, Texas, USA
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.
Filmography 120
Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché
as Self (archive footage)
2018
Alice Guy-Blaché
as Self
1997
The Hunger
as Lillybelle
1983
Reds
as Mrs. Partlow
1981
Ragtime
as Old Lady - T.O.C.
1981
Lady Chatterley's Lover
as Flora
1981
Hollywood
as Self
1980
Edward and Mrs Simpson
as Lady Cunard
1978
Edward & Mrs. Simpson
as Lady Cunard
1978
Gulliver's Travels
as (voice)
1977
The Ritz
as Maurine
1976
Vampyres
as American Lady
1974
Mousey
as Mrs. Richardson
1974
Catlow
as Mrs. Frost
1971
Sunday Bloody Sunday
as Answering Service Lady
1971
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
as Baccarat Player (uncredited)
1969
Isadora
as Mrs. Duncan
1968
I'll Never Forget What's'isname
as American tourist (uncredited)
1967
Battle Beneath the Earth
as Matron
1967
Promise Her Anything
as Pet Shop Customer
1966
The Wild Affair
as Marjorie's Mother
1965
I Think They Call Him John
as Narrator (voice)
1964
Children of the Damned
as Mrs. Robbin
1964
The Sentimental Agent
as Mamie
1963
Man of the World
as Mrs Van Kempson
1962
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
as Bunny
1961
Too Young to Love
as Mrs. Busch
1960
Nowhere to Go
as Harriet P. Jefferson
1958
Next to No Time
as Becky Wiener
1958
The Story of Esther Costello
as Art Gallery Customer
1957
Touch and Go
as Mrs Baxter
1955
ITV Play of the Week
as Mrs Strong
1955
The Barefoot Contessa
as Mrs. Eubanks
1954
The Weak and the Wicked
as Prisoner
1954
The Magic Box
as Bride's Mother in Wedding Group
1952
No Highway in the Sky
as Plane Passenger (uncredited)
1951
Journey Together
as Mrs. Mary McWilliams
1945
Atlantic Ferry
as Begonia Baggot
1941
Morals for Women
as Helen Hutson
1931
Round About Hollywood
as Self
1931
See America Thirst
as Ellen
1930
Good News
as Babe
1930
Conspiracy
as Margaret Holt
1930
They Learned About Women
as Mary
1930
Chasing Rainbows
as Carlie Seymour
1930
The Hollywood Revue of 1929
as Self
1929
The Girl in the Show
as Hattie Hartley
1929
The Idle Rich
as Helen Thayer
1929
The Broadway Melody
as Harriet 'Hank' Mahoney
1929
Anybody Here Seen Kelly?
as Mitzi Lavelle
1928
Sally of the Scandals
as Sally Rand
1928
The Swell Head
1928
The Matinee Idol
as Ginger Bolivar
1928
Dress Parade
as Janet Cleghorne
1927
A Harp in Hock
as Nora Banks
1927
Rubber Tires
as Mary Ellen Stack
1927
The American
as Jane Wilton
1927
Going Crooked
as Marie
1926
Young April
as Victoria
1926
Lovey Mary
as Lovey Mary
1926
The King On Main Street
as Mary Young
1925
New Brooms
1925
A Son of His Father
as Nora Shea
1925
Soul-Fire
as Teita
1925
The Lost World
as Paula White
1925
Sundown
as Ellen Crawley
1924
Dynamite Smith
as Violet
1924
The Silent Watcher
as Mary, his wife
1924
Those Who Dance
as Veda Anargas
1924
The Woman on the Jury
as Grace Pierce
1924
Torment
as Marie
1924
Gentle Julia
as Julia
1923
Slave of Desire
as Pauline Gaudin
1923
St. Elmo
as Edna Earle
1923
The Eternal Three
as Hilda Gray
1923
Human Wreckage
as Mary Finnegan
1923
Mary of the Movies
as Herself (uncredited)
1923
The Purple Dawn
as Mui Far
1923
Souls for Sale
as Self - Celebrity Actress (uncredited)
1923
The Strange Adventures of Prince Courageous
as Bernice
1923
The Ghost Patrol
as Effie Kugler
1923
Deserted at the Altar
as Anna Moore (The Country Girl)
1922
Night Life in Hollywood
as Self
1922
Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 12
as Self
1922
The Village Blacksmith
as Rosemary Martin
1922
Forget Me Not
as Ann, The Girl
1922
The Vermilion Pencil
as Hyacinth
1922
The Wampas Baby Stars of 1922
as Self
1922
The Sea Lion
as Blossom Nelson
1921
The Swamp
as Mary
1921
The Honor of Rameriz
as The Geologist's Wife
1921
Penny of Top Hill Trail
as Penny
1921
The Midlanders
as Aurelie Lindstrom
1920
Bonnie May
as Bonnie May
1920
Pegeen
as Pegeen O'Neill
1920
A Fighting Colleen
as Alannah Malone
1919
Over the Garden Wall
as Peggy Gordon
1919
Cupid Forecloses
as Geraldine Farleigh
1919
The Little Boss
as Peggy Winston (The Little Boss)
1919
The Wishing Ring Man
as Joy Havenith
1919
Carolyn of the Corners
1919
The Enchanted Barn
as Shirley Hollister
1919
The Dawn of Understanding
as Sue Prescott
1918
A Little Sister of Everybody
as Celeste Janvier
1918
How Could You, Caroline?
as Caroline Rogers
1918
The Great Adventure
as Rags
1918
Polly Ann
as Polly Ann
1917
Wee Lady Betty
as Wee Lady Betty
1917
The Sawdust Ring
as Janet Magie
1917
Cheerful Givers
as Judy
1917
A Daughter of the Poor
as Rose Eastman
1917
Nina, the Flower Girl
as Nina
1917
A Sister of Six
as Prudence
1916
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
as The Bride of Cana (Judean Story)
1916
The Mystery of the Leaping Fish
as The Little Fish Blower
1916
Reggie Mixes In
as Agnes
1916
The Good Bad-Man
as Amy
1916
The Aryan
as Mary Jane Garth
1916
The Flying Torpedo
as Hulda
1916
Acquitted
as Helen Carter
1916