Gerda Holmes, née Gerda Helen Elfrida Henius (April 2, 1891 – October 11, 1943), was an actress during the

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

era and in theater. She had major roles in numerous films including '' The Fable of Elvira and Farina and the Meal Ticket'' (1915) and '' The Iron Ring'' (1917) with

Arthur Ashley Arthur Ashley (October 6, 1886 – December 28, 1970) was an actor, writer, and director of silent films and also acted in legitimate theater. He was involved with World Pictures. He directed and acted in several film productions. Later in his ...

. Born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, Holmes was Danish. Her grandfather managed the

Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first s ...

in Copenhagen for more than two decades, and her father was a doctor in Chicago. She studied music in Denmark and began performing on stage there at about age 14. Her first marriage was to Rapley Holmes. The cover of the December 1916 issue of ''

The Masses ''The Masses'' was a graphically innovative American magazine of socialist politics published monthly from 1911 until 1917, when federal prosecutors brought charges against its editors for conspiring to obstruct conscription in the United Stat ...

'' magazine featured a "stylish and very modern" portrait of Holmes by Frank Walts.

Selected filmography

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The Family Honor ''The Family Honor'' is a 1920 American silent drama-romance film directed by King Vidor and starring Florence Vidor.American silent film actresses 20th-century American actresses American film actresses 1891 births 1943 deaths