Abbie Jean MacPherson (May 18, 1886 – August 26, 1946) was an American silent actress, writer and director. She is known for her collaborations with directors D. W. Griffith and

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of American cinema and the most co ...

, and was a founding member of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

Early life

Abbie Jean MacPherson was born in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

to a wealthy family of European (Spanish, Scottish and French) descent. Her parents were John S. MacPherson and Evangeline C. Tomlinson. As a teenager, she was sent to Mademoiselle DeJacque's school in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, but returned to the United States when her family could no longer afford the fees. MacPherson earned a degree from the Kenwood Institute 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 ...

and began working as a dancer and stage performer. MacPherson began her theatrical career as part of the chorus in the Chicago Opera House. Over the next few years, she took singing lessons and worked several theater-related jobs.

Film career

MacPherson made her film debut in the 1908 film ''The Fatal Hour'', directed by D. W. Griffith. She acted in many controversial roles in which she portrayed characters of ethnicities other than her own; due to her dark hair, she was often cast in

Gypsy {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...

or Spanish roles. From 1908 to 1917, she amassed 146 acting credits. She saw her time with Griffith as her "first glimmer of the possibilities in the new industry ndfrom those days on he hadseen a variety of attitudes toward the scriptwriters."Casella, Donna
''Feminism and the Female Author: The Not So Silent Career of the Woman Scenarist in Hollywood - 1896-1930''
tandfonline.com; accessed December 19, 2016. Jeanie_MacPherson-e1552435046513-246x300

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After working with Griffith, MacPherson began working with the Universal Company, where she starred in more prominent roles."Lowry, Carolyn. ''The First One Hundred Noted Men and Women of the Screen''" In 1913, she wrote, directed and starred in ''The Tarantula'', about a Spanish-Mexican girl, known as the Tarantula, who seduced men before killing them. With this film, she became the youngest director in motion picture history. ''The Tarantula'' is the only film she directed. MacPherson continued working for the Universal Company for two years, until her failing health caused her to leave. Upon her recovery, MacPherson began working for Lasky Studios; however, she quickly sought out

to see if she could act in his films. He told her, "I am not interested in star MacPherson, but I am in writer MacPherson"; and from that point on, she focused on writing. DeMille and MacPherson formed a partnership that some scholars consider to be one of the industry's most influential and long-lasting. MacPherson wrote the scripts for 30 of DeMille's next 34 films. Some of their most notable collaborations are '' Rose of the Rancho'' (1914) starring

Bessie Barriscale Bessie Barriscale (born Elizabeth Mary Barriscale; June 9, 1884 – June 30, 1965) was an American actress who gained fame on the stage and in silent films. Early life Barriscale was born in New York City to Samuel Barriscale, an England-born ...

, '' The Girl of the Golden West'' starring Mabel Van Buren, '' The Cheat'' (1915) starring

Sessue Hayakawa , known professionally as , was a Japanese actor and a matinée idol. He was a popular star in Hollywood during the silent film era of the 1910s and early 1920s. Hayakawa was the first actor of Asian descent to achieve stardom as a leading man ...

, '' The Golden Chance'' (1915) starring

Wallace Reid William Wallace Halleck Reid (April 15, 1891 – January 18, 1923) was an American actor in silent film, referred to as "the screen's most perfect lover". He also had a brief career as a racing driver. Early life Reid was born in St. Lou ...

, '' Joan the Woman'' (1916) starring

Geraldine Farrar Alice Geraldine Farrar (February 28, 1882 – March 11, 1967) was an American lyric soprano who could also sing Dramatic soprano, dramatic roles. She was noted for her beauty, acting ability, and "the intimate timbre of her voice." In the 191 ...

, ''

A Romance of the Redwoods ''A Romance of the Redwoods'' is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Mary Pickford. Art direction for the film was done by Wilfred Buckland. Location shooting for the film took place in the redwood ...

'' (1917) with

Mary Pickford Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...

, ''

The Little American ''The Little American'' is a 1917 American silent romantic war drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film stars Mary Pickford (who also served as producer) as an American woman who is in love with both a German soldier and a French ...

'' again starring Pickford, and '' The Woman God Forgot'' (1917) again starring Farrar. Mrs Jones entertains 1909

In 1921, MacPherson told a reporter, "I shall always be grateful for Mr. DeMille's assistance. He is a hard taskmaster, and he demands that a thing shall be perfect... It was hard, but it taught me that anything worth doing at all was worth doing perfectly." MacPherson believed that motion picture owed its psychology to D. W. Griffith and its dramatic picture scenario construction to DeMille. In 1927, she became a founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Personal life

MacPherson and DeMille's relationship was met with speculation for years. DeMille's niece, Agnes de Mille, later confirmed that MacPherson was one of her uncle's three mistresses. Demille - c1920

MacPherson was a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

and sought to take daily flights. She was the only woman to pilot the plane of

Ormer Locklear Ormer Leslie "Lock" Locklear (October 28, 1891 – August 2, 1920) was an American daredevil stunt pilot and film actor. His popular flying circus caught the attention of Hollywood, and he starred in ''The Great Air Robbery'' (1919), a scre ...

. In 1946, MacPherson became ill with cancer while researching '' Unconquered'' (1947), a historical drama, and had to stop work. She died that August in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

at age 60 and was buried at the

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematorium, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries ...

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 ...

. She was awarded 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 Blvd.

Filmography

As Performer

As Writer

References

External links

*
Jeanie MacPherson
at the Women Film Pioneers Project
Jeanie MacPherson
at Virtual History *
Jeanie MacPherson
at AFI {{DEFAULTSORT:Macpherson, Jeanie 1886 births 1946 deaths 20th-century American actresses Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences founders American film actresses American silent film actresses Screenwriters from Massachusetts Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Actresses from Boston American women screenwriters Deaths from cancer in California American people of Scottish descent American people of Spanish descent American people of French descent Writers from Boston Women film pioneers 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American screenwriters