Originally known as the "Biograph Girl," Florence Lawrence is most famous for being the first Hollywood actor to be publicly known by her given name. Prior to that, studios would ascribe nicknames to their players in order to prevent actors from become more famous than the studios and therefore being able to demand higher salaries. Lawrence got her start appearing in some of D.W. Griffith's first films at Biograph. As the "Biograph Girl," Lawrence was the most popular actress in the studio. In 1910, entrepreneur/budding movie mogul Carl Laemmle convinced Lawrence to leave Biograph and join his newly formed Independent Motion Picture Company of America (IMP). In an infamous publicity stunt, Laemmle surreptitiously submitted a newspaper article stating that the "Biograph Girl" had been killed in a streetcar accident. The next day, in his official capacity, Laemmle published an advertisement denouncing the "enemies" of his studio who had deliberately lied about the actress' death. He then announced that Lawrence had become the new "IMP Girl." In her first IMP film, Lawrence appeared under her own name in The Broken Oath (1910). Her career continued through the mid-'20s, but by the '30s, she was all but forgotten and earning a small salary on the MGM payroll as a bit player. In 1938 Florence Lawrence killed herself by deliberately ingesting insecticide at age 52.
by Sandra Brennan
biography
