CineScope
Louise Brooks picture

Louise Brooks

Acting
Known For

78 Years Old

Mary Louise Brooks (November 14, 1906 – August 8, 1985) was an American film actress and dancer during the 1920s and 1930s. She is regarded today as an icon of the Jazz Age and flapper culture, in part due to the bob hairstyle that she helped popularize during the prime of her career. Brooks began her career as a dancer. While dancing in the Ziegfeld Follies in New York City, she came to the attention of Walter Wanger, a producer at Paramount Pictures, and was signed to a five-year contract with the studio. She appeared in supporting roles in various Paramount films before taking the heroine's role in Beggars of Life (1928). Dissatisfied with her mediocre roles in Hollywood films, Brooks went to Germany in 1929 and starred in three feature films that launched her to international stardom: Pandora's Box (1929), Diary of a Lost Girl (1929), and Miss Europe (1930); the first two were directed by G. W. Pabst. By 1938, she had starred in seventeen silent films and eight sound films. After retiring from acting, she fell upon financial hardship and became a paid escort. For the next two decades, she struggled with alcoholism and suicidal tendencies. Following the rediscovery of her films by cinephiles in the 1950s, a reclusive Brooks began writing articles about her film career; her insightful essays drew considerable acclaim. She published her memoir, Lulu in Hollywood, in 1982. Three years later, she died of a heart attack at age 78. [preceding biography, edited, from Wikipedia]

Born

Cherryvale, Kansas, USA on 14th November 1906

Died

8th August 1985

All Credits

Hollywood Image
Hollywood
Self
Mysteries and Scandals Image
Mysteries and Scandals
Self (archive footage)
Pandora's Box Image
Pandora's Box
Lulu
Memories of Berlin: The Twilight of Weimar Culture Image
Memories of Berlin: The Twilight of Weimar Culture
Self - Interviewee
Diary of a Lost Girl Image
Diary of a Lost Girl
Thymian Henning
A Girl in Every Port Image
A Girl in Every Port
Marie / Mam'selle Godiva
Overland Stage Raiders Image
Overland Stage Raiders
Beth Hoyt
The Canary Murder Case Image
The Canary Murder Case
The Canary
Beggars of Life Image
Beggars of Life
The Girl (Nancy)
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema Image
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
Self (archive footage)
Now We're in the Air Image
Now We're in the Air
Griselle and Grisette
Clara Bow: Discovering the It Girl Image
Clara Bow: Discovering the It Girl
Self (archive footage)
Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu Image
Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu
Herself (archive footage)
Evening Clothes Image
Evening Clothes
Fox Trot
God's Gift to Women Image
God's Gift to Women
Florine
It Pays to Advertise Image
It Pays to Advertise
Thelma Temple
It's the Old Army Game Image
It's the Old Army Game
Mildred Marshall
Fragments: Surviving Pieces of Lost Films Image
Fragments: Surviving Pieces of Lost Films
Herself (archive footage)
Miss Europe Image
Miss Europe
Lucienne
A Social Celebrity Image
A Social Celebrity
Kitty Laverne
The City Gone Wild Image
The City Gone Wild
Snuggles Joy
Empty Saddles Image
Empty Saddles
Boots Boone
The Show Off Image
The Show Off
Clara
The American Venus Image
The American Venus
Miss Bayport
The Street of Forgotten Men Image
The Street of Forgotten Men
A Moll (uncredited)
Love 'Em and Leave 'Em Image
Love 'Em and Leave 'Em
Janie Walsh
Louise Brooks Image
Louise Brooks
Herself (Archival Footage)
Flappers, Speakeasies, and the Birth of Modern Culture Image
Flappers, Speakeasies, and the Birth of Modern Culture
Rolled Stockings Image
Rolled Stockings
Carol Fleming
No Image
1001 Films
(archival)
Windy Riley Goes Hollywood Image
Windy Riley Goes Hollywood
Betty Grey
Lulu in Berlin Image
Lulu in Berlin
Herself
Just Another Blonde Image
Just Another Blonde
Diana O'Sullivan