Renée Adorée (30 September 1898 – 5 October 1933) was a French actress. Born into a family of circus performers in
Lille, France, she performed regularly with her parents as a child. Having made a reputation in France, England, and Australia for her dancing skills, she went to New York City in 1919, where she was cast in musicals including
Oh, Uncle,
Oh, What a Girl, and
Dancer. In 1920, she appeared in her first film,
Raoul Walsh's
The Strongest, as the lead character. She went on to star in several silent films in the early 1920s, including
Reginald Barker's
The Eternal Struggle, which established her as a Hollywood star. The biggest role of her career was as Melisande in 1925's melodramatic romance and war epic
The Big Parade opposite
John Gilbert. It became one of
MGM's all-time biggest hits and a film that historians rank as one of the best of the silent era. She continued making films into the 1930s including two with all-talking roles, but developed tuberculosis and died in 1933.
Photograph: Bain News Service
