Isabella Mercia McDonagh (3 January 1899 – 5 March 1982), also known as Marie Lorraine, was an Australian actress who often worked in collaboration with her sisters

Paulette Paulette may refer to: *Paulette (name), French feminine given name *Paulette (tax) * Paulette Caveat - a caveat filed in 1973 by a group of Dene chiefs at the land titles office in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories to gain a legal interest in 40 ...

and

Phyllis Phyllis is a feminine given name which may refer to: People * Phyllis Bartholomew (1914–2002), English long jumper * Phyllis Drummond Bethune (née Sharpe, 1899–1982), New Zealand artist * Phyllis Calvert (1915–2002), British actress * P ...

. Isabella, alongside her two sisters made history by owning and running a film production company, therefore becoming the first Australian women to do so. She visited Hollywood in 1933 but did not elect to stay on and make a career there.

Early life

Isabella Mercia McDonagh was born 3 January 1899 at Macquaire Street in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, becoming one of seven children born to John McDonagh, a medical practitioner, and Annie Jane (née Amora). Since her father was a surgeon to a theatrical company, she was familiar with the entertainment industry and as a young girl, showed an interest in acting. She entered the film industry with her sisters

, writer and director of all their films, and

who became the art director, publicist and producer. She died on 5 March 1982.

Awards

* Isabella Mercia McDonagh was inducted onto the

Victorian Honour Roll of Women The Victorian Honour Roll of Women was established in 2001 to recognise the achievements of women from the Australian state of Victoria. The Honour Roll was established as part of the celebrations of Victoria's Centenary of Federation. Public no ...

in 2001. * Isabella and her sisters

and

were recipients of the 1978

Raymond Longford award The Longford Lyell Award is a lifetime achievement award presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), a non-profit organisation whose aim is "to identify, award, promote and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements ...

(

Australian Film Institute The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry. It is responsib ...

)

Partial filmography

*''

Joe Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

'' (1924) *'' Painted Daughters'' (1925) *'' Those Who Love'' (1926) *'' The Far Paradise'' (1928) *'' The Cheaters'' (1930) *'' Two Minutes Silence'' (1933)

References

External links

*
Marie Lorraine
at

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

* 1899 births 1982 deaths Australian film actresses Australian silent film actresses 20th-century Australian actresses {{Australia-actor-stub