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A beauty contest winner at the age of four and a model for illustrator Harrison Fisher, Marguerite Courtot later starred in no less than four action serials, one of which, Bound and Gagged (1919), spoofed the entire genre. The brunette beauty had begun her screen career with pioneer company Kalem in 1912 and became popular in 15 one-reel comedy-dramas opposite Tom Moore. In 1915, she did the 16-chapter The Ventures of Marguerite, not a serial per se but a series of complete mini-dramas featuring the same characters. Leaving Kalem in 1916, Courtot signed with Famous Players who cast her opposite Tom Moore's brother Owen Moore in Rolling Stones. She played an innocent girl and he a former gangster redeemed by her love. Leaving Famous Players in 1917 to do her bit for the war effort by volunteering at a New Jersey recruitment office, Courtot later signed with serial leader Pathé and briefly became that company's leading star. Bound and Gagged, which teamed her with veteran serial specialist George B. Seitz (who also directed), was followed by Pirate Gold (1920), Velvet Fingers (1920) (both with Seitz), and The Yellow Arm (1921) with Juanita Hansen. With the declining popularity of action serials, Courtot went on to star in low-budget fare such as Down to the Sea in Ships (1922), filmed on location at Bedford, MA, and notable mainly for featuring a very young Clara Bow in only her second film. Courtot's leading man in this whaling melodrama was handsome Raymond McKee, whom she married the following year. It was a union that would last a lifetime.