Anna Quirentia Nilsson (March 30, 1888 – February 11, 1974) was a Swedish-American actress who achieved success in American silent movies.

Early life

Nilsson was born in

Ystad Ystad () is a town and the seat of Ystad Municipality, in Scania County, Sweden. Ystad had 18,350 inhabitants in 2010. The settlement dates from the 11th century and has become a busy ferryport, local administrative centre, and tourist attracti ...

, Sweden in 1888. Her middle name Quirentia is derived from her date of birth, March 30, Saint Quirinius' Day. When she was 8 years old her father, Per Nilsson, got a job at the local sugar factory in Hasslarp, a small community outside Helsingborg in Sweden where she spent most of her school years. She did very well in school, graduating with highest marks. Due to her good grades, she was hired as a sales clerk in Halmstad on the Swedish west coast, unusual for a young woman from a worker's family at the time, but she had set her mind on going to the United States. In 1905, she emigrated to the United States through

Ellis Island Ellis Island is an island in New York Harbor, within the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York (state), New York. Owned by the U.S. government, Ellis Island was once the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United State ...

. In the U.S., she started working as a nursemaid and learned English quickly.

Career

Silent films

In 1907, Nilsson was named "Most beautiful woman in America". The cover artist Penrhyn Stanlaws chose her as one of his models, which led to her feature role in the Kalem Motion Picture Company's 1911 film ''Molly Pitcher''. She stayed at the Kalem studio for several years, ranked behind its top star Alice Joyce, before branching out to other production companies. Films of special note are '' Regeneration'' (1915) '' Seven Keys to Baldpate'' (1917), ''Soldiers of Fortune'' (1919), ''The Toll Gate'' and '' The Luck of the Irish'' (both 1920), and '' The Lotus Eater'' (1921). In 1921, while on a rare vacation return to Sweden, she was asked to film ''Värmlänningarna'', her only Swedish movie. In the 1920s, she freelanced successfully for Paramount, First National and many other studios and reached a peak of popularity just before the advent of talkies. In 1923, she was severely burned while filming a scene in which she drove a locomotive through a forest fire for '' Hearts Aflame''; she required a week to recuperate, but that did not impede her career. That year, she made nine movies, including portraying "Cherry Malotte" in the second movie based upon Rex Beach's '' The Spoilers'', a role that would be played in later versions by

Betty Compson Betty Compson (born Eleanor Luicime Compson; March 19, 1897 – April 18, 1974) was an American actress and film producer who got her start during Hollywood's silent era. She is best known for her performances in ''The Docks of New York'' and '' ...

(1930),

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however, Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

(1942), and

Anne Baxter Anne Baxter (May 7, 1923 – December 12, 1985) was an American actress, star of Hollywood films, Broadway theatre, Broadway productions, and television series. She won an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, Golden Globe, and t ...

(1955). In 1926, she was named Hollywood's most popular woman. She welcomed royalty when the Swedish Crown Prince Gustav Adolf (later King Gustaf VI Adolf) and his wife Louise Mountbatten visited Hollywood. In 1928, she set a record for fan mail, some 30,000 letters per month, and in that year Joseph P. Kennedy brought her to his newly formed film company

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Kei ...

. The following year, as she was horse riding, she fell off the horse, was thrown against a stone wall and broke her hip. After a year of hard training, she was on her feet again. In 1928, Anna Nilsson made her last film of the silent era, ''

Blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are ...

''.

Sound films

With the introduction of sound films, Nilsson's career went into a sharp decline, although she continued to play small, often uncredited parts in films into the 1950s. Between 1930 and 1950, she participated in 39 sound films in smaller roles. She played the role of the Swedish immigrant mother of

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Michaela Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1989. She received numerous honors including an Academy Awards ...

in '' The Farmer's Daughter'' (1947). Her best known performance in a sound film is arguably her turn as herself, referred to as one of Swanson's "waxworks" in ''

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...

'' (1950), where she has one line. Nilsson has a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

at 6150 Hollywood Boulevard for her contribution to motion pictures. She was the first Swedish-born actress to receive such an honor.

Personal life

Nilsson was married to actor

Guy Coombs Guy Coombs (June 15, 1882 – December 29, 1947) was an American stage and screen actor who had a prolific career during the silent era. He was born in Washington, D. C., Washington, D.C. and died in Los Angeles, California. He left films in 1922 ...

from 1916 until 1917 and to Norwegian-American shoe merchant John Marshall Gunnerson from 1922 until 1925. She died in Sun City, California on February 11, 1974, of heart failure. Nilsson was a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

and a registered Republican who was supportive of

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

's campaign during the 1952 presidential election.

Selected filmography

* ''The Express Envelope'' (1911, Short) as Hazel * ''Molly Pitcher'' (1911, Short) as Molly Pitcher * ''The Flash in the Night'' (1911, Short) as Kate * ''The Darling of the C.S.A.'' (1912) * '' The Drummer Girl of Vicksburg'' (1912) as Rose Beecher * '' The Confederate Ironclad'' (1912, Short) as Elinor Adams - a Union Spy * ''Wolfe; Or, The Conquest of Quebec'' (1914) as Mignon Mars * '' The Hazards of Helen'' (1914, Serial) as Helen h. 18'The Night Operator at Buxton' * '' Regeneration'' (1915) as Marie Deering * '' Barbara Frietchie'' (1915) as Sue Negly * ''The Scarlet Road'' (1916) as Betty Belgrave * ''The Supreme Sacrifice'' (1916) as Helen Chambers * ''Her Surrender'' (1916) as Rhoda Cortlandt * ''

Infidelity Infidelity (synonyms include non-consensual non-monogamy, cheating, straying, adultery, being unfaithful, two-timing, or having an affair) is a violation of a couple's emotional or sexual exclusivity that commonly results in feelings of anger, se ...

'' (1917) as Elaine Bernard * ''The Moral Code'' (1917) as Jean Hyland * ''The Inevitable'' (1917) as Florence Grey * '' The Silent Master'' (1917) as Minor Role * '' Seven Keys to Baldpate'' (1917) as Mary Norton * ''

Over There "Over There" is a 1917 war song written by George M. Cohan that was popular with the United States military and the American public during World War I and World War II. Written shortly after the American entry into World War I, "Over There" i ...

'' (1917) as Bettie Adams * '' Heart of the Sunset'' (1918) as Alaire Austin * '' The Trail to Yesterday'' (1918) as Sheila Langford * '' No Man's Land'' (1918) as Katherine Gresham * '' In Judgement Of'' (1918) as Mary Manners * '' The Vanity Pool'' (1918) as Carol Harper * '' Ravished Armenia'' (1919) as Edith Graham * '' Venus in the East'' (1919) as Mrs. Pat Dyvenot * '' Cheating Cheaters'' (1919) as Grace Palmer * '' The Way of the Strong'' (1919) as Audrie Hendrie / Monica Norton * '' A Very Good Young Man'' (1919) as Viva Bacchus * '' The Love Burglar'' (1919) as Joan Gray * '' A Sporting Chance'' (1919) as Pamela Brent * '' Her Kingdom of Dreams'' (1919) as Carlotta Stanmore * '' Soldiers of Fortune'' (1919) as Alice Langham * '' The Luck of the Irish'' (1920) as Ruth Warren * '' The Thirteenth Commandment'' (1920) as Leila Kip * ''

The Toll Gate ''The Toll Gate'' is a 1920 American silent Western film directed by Lambert Hillyer, written by Lambert Hillyer and William S. Hart, and starring William S. Hart, Anna Q. Nilsson, Joseph Singleton, Jack Richardson, and Richard Headrick. It ...

'' (1920) as Mary Brown * '' The Figurehead'' (1920) as Mary Forbes * '' One Hour Before Dawn'' (1920) as Ellen Aldrich * '' The Fighting Chance'' (1920) as Sylvia Landis * '' In the Heart of a Fool'' (1920) as Margaret Muller * '' The Brute Master'' (1920) as Madeline Grey * '' What Women Will Do'' (1921) as Lily Gibbs * '' Without Limit'' (1921) as Ember Edwards * '' The Oath'' (1921) as Irene Lansing * '' Why Girls Leave Home'' (1921) as Anna Hedder * ''Värmlänningarna'' (1921, her only Swedish film) as Anna * '' The Lotus Eater'' (1921) as Madge Vance * '' Ten Nights in a Bar Room'' (1921) * '' Three Live Ghosts'' (1922) as Ivis * '' The Man from Home'' (1922) as Genevieve Granger-Simpson * '' Pink Gods'' (1922) as Lady Margot Cork * '' Hearts Aflame'' (1923) as Helen Foraker * '' The Isle of Lost Ships'' (1923) as Dorothy Fairfax * '' The Rustle of Silk'' (1923) as Lady Feo * '' The Spoilers'' (1923) as Cherry Malotte * ''

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

'' (1923) as Anna Q. Nilsson * '' Adam's Rib'' (1923) as Mrs. Michael Ramsay * '' Ponjola'' (1923) as Lady Flavia Desmond * '' Thundering Dawn'' (1923) as Mary Rogers * '' Innocence'' (1923) as Fay Leslie * '' Enemies of Children'' (1923) * '' Half-A-Dollar-Bill'' (1924) as The Stranger - Mrs. Webber * '' Painted People'' (1924) as Leslie Carter * '' Flowing Gold'' (1924) as Allegheny Briskow * '' Between Friends'' (1924) as Jessica Drene * '' Broadway After Dark'' (1924) as Helen Tremaine * '' The Side Show of Life'' (1924) as Lady Auriol Dayne * '' The Fire Patrol'' (1924) as Mary Ferguson * '' The Breath of Scandal'' (1924) * '' Vanity's Price'' (1924) as Vaana Du Maurier * '' Inez from Hollywood'' (1924) as Inez Laranetta * '' Hello, 'Frisco'' (1924) as herself * '' If I Marry Again'' (1925) as Alicia Wingate * '' The Top of the World'' (1925) as Sylvia Ingleton * '' One Way Street'' (1925) as Lady Sylvia Hutton * '' The Talker'' (1925) as Kate Lennox * '' Winds of Chance'' (1925) as Countess Courteau * '' The Splendid Road'' (1925) as Sandra De Hault * '' Too Much Money'' (1926) as Annabel Broadley * '' Her Second Chance'' (1926) as Mrs. Constance Lee / Caroline Logan * '' The Greater Glory'' (1926) as Fanny * '' Miss Nobody'' (1926) as Barbara Brown * '' Midnight Lovers'' (1926) as Diana Fothergill * '' The Masked Woman'' (1927) as Diane Delatour * '' Easy Pickings'' (1927) as Mary Ryan * '' Babe Comes Home'' (1927) (with

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

) as Vernie * '' Lonesome Ladies'' (1927) as Polly Fosdick * '' The Thirteenth Juror'' (1927) as Helen Marsden * '' Sorrell and Son'' (1927) as Dora Sorrell * '' The Whip'' (1928) as Iris d'Aquila * ''

'' (1928) as Bess * '' The World Changes'' (1933) as Mrs. Peterson * '' School for Girls'' (1934) as Dr. Anne Galvin * '' The Little Minister'' (1934) as Villager (uncredited) * '' Wanderer of the Wasteland'' (1935) as Mrs. Virey * ''

Paradise for Three ''Paradise for Three'', titled ''Romance for Three'' in the United Kingdom, is a 1938 American romantic comedy film starring Frank Morgan as a wealthy industrialist who learns about his Austrian workers by surreptitiously living among them. It wa ...

'' (1938) as First Bridge Player (uncredited) * ''

Prison Farm A prison farm (also known as a penal farm) is a large correctional facility where penal labor convicts work legally or illegally on a farm (in the wide sense of a productive unit), usually for manual labor, largely in the open air, such as in ...

'' (1938) as Matron Ames * '' The Trial of Mary Dugan'' (1941) as Juror (uncredited) * '' The People vs. Dr. Kildare'' (1941) as Juror Next to Foreman (uncredited) * '' They Died with Their Boots On'' (1941) as Mrs. Taipe (uncredited) * '' Girls' Town'' (1942) as Mother Lorraine * '' The Great Man's Lady'' (1942) as Paula Wales (uncredited) * '' I Live on Danger'' (1942) as Mrs. Sherman * '' Crossroads'' (1942) as Madame Deval (uncredited) * '' Headin' for God's Country'' (1943) as Mrs. Nilsson * '' Cry 'Havoc''' (1943) as Nurse (uncredited) * '' The Valley of Decision'' (1945) as Mrs. Scott's Nurse (uncredited) * '' The Sailor Takes a Wife'' (1945) as Switchboard Operator (uncredited) * '' The Secret Heart'' (1946) as Dr. Rossiger's Secretary (uncredited) * '' The Farmer's Daughter'' (1947) as Mrs. Holstrom * '' Cynthia'' (1947) as Miss Brady * '' It Had to Be You'' (1947) as Saleslady (uncredited) * '' Fighting Father Dunne'' (1948) as Mrs. Olaf Knudson * '' The Boy with Green Hair'' (1948) as Townswoman (uncredited) * ''

Every Girl Should Be Married ''Every Girl Should Be Married'' is a 1948 American romantic comedy film directed by Don Hartman and starring Cary Grant, Betsy Drake and Franchot Tone. Grant and Drake married a year after the film's release. Plot Department store sales ...

'' (1948) as Saleslady * '' In the Good Old Summertime'' (1949) as Woman with Harp (uncredited) * '' Adam's Rib'' (1949) as Mrs. Poynter (uncredited) * '' Malaya'' (1949) as Secretary (uncredited) * ''

The Big Hangover ''The Big Hangover'' is a 1950 American comedy film released by MGM. The film starred Van Johnson and Elizabeth Taylor and was written and directed by Norman Krasna. Supporting players include Percy Waram, Fay Holden, Leon Ames, Edgar Buchanan, Se ...

'' (1950) as Helen Lang (uncredited) * ''

'' (1950) as herself * '' Grounds for Marriage'' (1951) as Dowager at Friday Club (uncredited) * ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the per ...

'' (1951) as Seamstress (uncredited) * '' The Law and the Lady'' (1951) as Mrs. Scholmm (uncredited) * ''

An American in Paris ''An American in Paris'' is a jazz-influenced symphonic poem (or tone poem) for orchestra by American composer George Gershwin first performed in 1928. It was inspired by the time that Gershwin had spent in Paris and evokes the sights and en ...

'' (1951) as Kay Jansen (uncredited) * '' The Unknown Man'' (1951) as Cocktail Party Guest (uncredited) * '' Fearless Fagan'' (1952) as Abby's Maid (uncredited) * '' The Great Diamond Robbery'' (1954) as Nurse (uncredited) * '' Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' (1954) as Mrs. Elcott (uncredited)

References

Notes Biblikography *Wollstein, Hans J. ''Strangers in Hollywood: the history of Scandinavian actors in American films from 1910 to World War II'' (Scarecrow Press. 1994)

External links

*
The Pop History DigAnna Q. Nilsson
at Virtual History {{DEFAULTSORT:Nilsson, Anna Q. American film actresses American silent film actresses Swedish emigrants to the United States 1888 births 1974 deaths Swedish silent film actresses 20th-century Swedish actresses Swedish film actresses People from Ystad Actresses from Skåne County 20th-century American actresses American Lutherans Swedish Lutherans California Republicans 20th-century Lutherans