
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