Bessie Love
Bessie Love (born Juanita Horton, September 10, 1898 - April 26, 1986) became one of the most recognizable faces of early American cinema. After her family moved to Los Angeles, she was sent to Biograph Studios, where legendary director D.W. Griffith noticed her talent and cast her in several films, including Intolerance (1916). During the silent era, she gained popularity for her lively, wholesome screen presence and worked with major stars such as Douglas Fairbanks. Her career soared in the 1920s, and she was named a WAMPAS Baby Star in 1922, marking her as one of Hollywood’s most promising young actresses. Love made a successful transition to sound films—something many silent stars struggled with. Her performance as Hank Mahoney in The Broadway Melody (1929) earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, cementing her place in film history. In the 1930s, she moved to the United Kingdom, where she continued acting in film, theatre, radio, and later television. Her career ultimately spanned from 1915 to 1983, making her one of the longest‑working performers of her generation. She died on April 26, 1986, in London at age 87.
134 acting credits
Acting · 134
International Detective
1959
ITV Play of the Week
1955
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
1969
Story Parade
1964
Man of the World
1962
Hollywood
1980
Edward and Mrs Simpson
1978
Lady Chatterley's Lover
1981
The Hunger
1983
Reds
1981
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
1916
Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché
2018
The Sentimental Agent
1963
Ragtime
1981
The Barefoot Contessa
1954
Vampyres
1974
The Broadway Melody
1929
Catlow
1971
The Lost World
1925
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
1961
No Highway in the Sky
1951
Nowhere to Go
1958
Battle Beneath the Earth
1967
Sunday Bloody Sunday
1971
Children of the Damned
1964
The Ritz
1976
Isadora
1968
The Magic Box
1952
Souls for Sale
1923
The Hollywood Revue of 1929
1929
Promise Her Anything
1966
I'll Never Forget What's'isname
1967
Mousey
1974
Gulliver's Travels
1977
Touch and Go
1955
Conspiracy
1930
The Wild Affair
1965
The Weak and the Wicked
1954
Journey Together
1945
Round About Hollywood
1931
Atlantic Ferry
1941
Too Young to Love
1960
Good News
1930
The Swamp
1921
Morals for Women
1931
Chasing Rainbows
1930
The Mystery of the Leaping Fish
1916
They Learned About Women
1930
Next to No Time
1958
New Brooms
1925
Soul-Fire
1925
The Village Blacksmith
1922
A Son of His Father
1925
A Daughter of the Poor
1917
The Good Bad-Man
1916
Those Who Dance
1924
The Matinee Idol
1928
Dress Parade
1927
Mary of the Movies
1923
Rubber Tires
1927
St. Elmo
1923
Deserted at the Altar
1922
The Vermilion Pencil
1922
The Story of Esther Costello
1957
Dynamite Smith
1924
The Great Adventure
1918
The King On Main Street
1925
The Sea Lion
1921
Tongues of Flame
1924
Edward & Mrs. Simpson
1978
The Idle Rich
1929
The Song and Dance Man
1926
Lovey Mary
1926
The Strange Adventures of Prince Courageous
1923
The Woman on the Jury
1924
The Wishing Ring Man
1919
The Silent Watcher
1924
Young April
1926
Sundown
1924
The Ghost Patrol
1923
The American
1927
How Could You, Caroline?
1918
Bonnie May
1920
The Wampas Baby Stars of 1922
1922
The Sawdust Ring
1917
The Aryan
1916
The Pistol
1965
Nina, the Flower Girl
1917
Pegeen
1920
Human Wreckage
1923
Bulldog Courage
1922
Gentle Julia
1923
Torment
1924
Reggie Mixes In
1916
The Midlanders
1920
Wee Lady Betty
1917
Penny of Top Hill Trail
1921
A Little Sister of Everybody
1918
Acquitted
1916
Slave of Desire
1923
The Honor of Rameriz
1921
Three Who Paid
1923
The Heiress at Coffee Dan's
1916
See America Thirst
1930
A Yankee Princess
1919
Anybody Here Seen Kelly?
1928
Over the Garden Wall
1919
Carolyn of the Corners
1919
Forget Me Not
1922
Sally of the Scandals
1928
The Spirit of the Lake
1921
Going Crooked
1926
The Eternal Three
1923
The Dawn of Understanding
1918
The Little Boss
1919
Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 12
1922
A Harp in Hock
1927
The Girl in the Show
1929
The Swell Head
1928
Stranded
1916
London Scrapbook
1942
A Sister of Six
1916
Night Life in Hollywood
1922
The Purple Dawn
1923
The Flying Torpedo
1916
The Enchanted Barn
1919
I Think They Call Him John
1964
Cupid Forecloses
1919
Hell-to-Pay Austin
1916
Alice Guy-Blaché
1997
Polly Ann
1917
Gareth Hughes
2000
A Fighting Colleen
1919
Cheerful Givers
1917