Louise Sarah Knappen Woollett (May 15, 1875 – August 4, 1955) was an American educator, school administrator, clubwoman, and arts patron. She was principal of the

Hollywood School for Girls The Women's Club of Hollywood, also known as the Hollywood Club LA, serves as a social and philanthropic organization with close connections to the local film industry. The historic women's club sits on the former campus of the Hollywood School ...

in Los Angeles from 1915 until 1932.

Early life and education

Knappen was born in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, the daughter of Theodore Frelinghuysen Knappen and Sarah Letitia McFarlane Knappen. Her grandfather Hugh McFarlane served in the Wisconsin legislature. Her younger sister, Elizabeth Knappen Ames, was the longtime director of the

Yaddo Yaddo is an artists' community located on a estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment.". On March ...

arts retreat. Louise graduated from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, and trained as a teacher at Winona State Normal School.

Career

Knappen taught at schools in Minnesota and the Pacific Northwest as a young woman. She was principal of the Hollywood School of Girls beginning in 1915. During her tenure, the school's students including the children of Hollywood's most prominent figures, including

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 ...

(who was also a member of the school's advisory board),

Louis B. Mayer Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1884Mayer maintained that he was born in Minsk on July 4, 1885. According to Scott Eyman, the reasons may have been: * Mayer's father gave different dates for his birthplace at different times, so ...

, and

Jesse L. Lasky Jesse Louis Lasky (September 13, 1880 – January 13, 1958) was an American pioneer motion picture producer who was a key founder of what was to become Paramount Pictures, and father of screenwriter Jesse L. Lasky Jr. Early life Born in to ...

, and future film stars such as

Jean Harlow Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...

. Designer

Edith Head Edith Claire Head (née Posener, October 28, 1897 – October 24, 1981) was an American film costume designer who won a record eight Academy Awards for Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Best Costume Design between 1949 and 1973, making he ...

taught French, Spanish, and art classes at the school. Classes were conducted outdoors, and boys were admitted to the lower grades. Her sister Marjorie Knappen was Knappen's assistant principal at the Hollywood School, briefly, before she married in early 1917. Later in 1917, Louise Knappen also married, to architect William Lee Woollett. She remained as principal of the Hollywood School after marriage, until it closed in 1932. She oversaw expansion of the school's campus in 1923, and took a sabbatical in 1931 to study other girls' schools. Woollett was a founding member of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, and served on the boards of the Assistance League of Southern California and the Los Angeles Women's Athletic Club.

Personal life

Knappen married widowed architect William Lee Woollett in 1917; his daughter Prudence attended the Hollywood School. Her husband died in February 1955, and she died in August 1955, at the age of 80.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woollett, Louise Knappen 1875 births 1955 deaths People from Minneapolis American educators University of Minnesota alumni