Biography

Olive Borden

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Overview

Born
July 14, 1906 · Richmond, Virginia, USA
Died
October 1, 1947 · Los Angeles, California, USA (stomach ailment)
Nicknames
- Ollie
- The Joy Girl
Height
5′ 4″ (1.63 m)

Biography

Considered one of the most beautiful actresses of the silent era, Olive Borden was a Mack Sennett bathing beauty at 15 and reached the peak of her career in 1926 when she made 11 films for Fox Studios and was earning $1,500 a week. Refusing to take a salary cut, Borden abruptly left Fox in 1928 and made only a few pictures for other studios before retiring from films in 1938. In 1943, she joined the WACS, and after her discharge, returned to Hollywood in a failed attempt to revive her career. At the time she was quoted as saying, "Since I got out of the Army I've gone from job to job. Something always goes wrong." By 1946 she was found scrubbing floors for a living and in 1947, at the age of 40, died of a "stomach ailment" at the Sunshine Mission - a home for destitute women on Los Angeles' Skid Row.
- IMDb mini biography by: djwills@pacbell.net
Olive Borden was beautiful and talented, but she became one of Hollywood's most tragic tales. She came to Hollywood in 1922 with her widowed mother. Olive started her career as a Mack Sennett bathing beauty and was named a Wampas baby star in 1925. She made eleven films at Fox studios where she earned $1,500 a week. Olive became a popular on screen vamp and her jet black hair was her trademark. She hired Jimmy Fidler as her agent and was nicknamed "The Joy Girl". Olive lived a lavish lifestyle with limos, mansions, servants, and a dozen fur coats. In 1927, she left Fox after a salary dispute. She later worked for Columbia and RKO studios. Like many other silent stars, she had a hard time making the transition to talkies. Her last film was made in 1934. There were two failed marriages, and a broken engagement to actor George O'Brien. During World War II she worked as a nurse. By the age of 41 she was a penniless alcoholic. Her final years were spent in a Los Angeles mission. Sadly many of Olive Borden's silent films have been lost and this lovely star has been forgotten.
- IMDb mini biography by: Carole McDonald

Family

Spouses
Parents
Relatives

Trademark

Jet black hair
Wearing a lucky pansy ring

Trivia

Olive was a distant cousin of the notorious Lizzie Borden.
By 1942, Olive had filed for bankruptcy and was working at Macy's department store. She joined the WAC but was honorably discharged after suffering a severe foot injury.
Olive was engaged to actor George O'Brien in 1929. She was also romantically involved with director Marshall Neilan.
As a struggling actress, she was discovered twice, first by Mack Sennett who made her a bathing beauty and later by producer Paul Bern, who became her boyfriend.
Her mother Sibbie was a conservative Christian who never drank and didn't want Olive to be an actress. Towards the end of her life, Olive claimed she also had "found religion".

Quotes

If I don't like a story or a part I just don't do it. But when I get something I like I work like the devil. Consequently I am accomplishing far more than I ever did before and I'm not working half as hard.
Almost any girl taken from obscurity and spot-lighted, highly paid and catered to, would go haywire. Precious few have escaped the stage of distorted viewpoint, unless they had very wise management.
Look here, I was never a grand lady. I was always just a crazy kid. I couldn't be what they wanted me to be. And the more I tried the bigger fool I was. How could I have dared myself such grand airs when I was making such bad pictures? I'm not that exotic, vampish type. I don't want to be a great dramatic actress. I'm not sophisticated. Why should I play sophisticated roles?
When I left the Fox lot about a year ago I was so nervous I didn't know if I was temperamental or not. So I moved to the beach for three months and became just a kid again, doing the things kids like to do and enjoying myself generally. Then I came back and want to work because I wanted to prove to myself that I am not temperamental.
I wanted money, a lot of it. Why? I don't know except that earning it pleases ego, spending it whets vanity. It adds to that absurd importance. With the inflated estimation of self, the more money you get, the more you want, to increase prestige. And it is handy to purchase places and such trinkets.