Jeanne Eagels

Biography

Born into a poor family in Kansas, Eagles ran off to join a traveling theatrical company at age 12, landed in New York, remade herself, became a chorine and a Ziegfeld Girl, studied acting and became a sought after theatrical name. As her heavy schedule – which soon included silent films – began to weigh on her, she self-medicated with pills, alcohol and possibly harder stuff. Soon, after dozens of successful roles, she became a Broadway super-star playing Sadie Thompson in Somerset Maugham’s “Rain.” As her fame increased, so did her reputation for temperamental behavior and even unreliability. She died on the night of October 3, 1929, aged 39. Her death was variously attributed to alcohol, sleeping pills and heroin.

Known For

The Letter

as Leslie Crosbie

Man, Woman and Sin

as Vera Worth

The World and the Woman

as Mary - A Woman of the Streets

The Fires of Youth

as Billy's Sister

The Ace of Hearts

A Lesson in Bridge

as Mrs. Willis

The Bride of the Sea

The Cross Bearer

as Liane de Merode

The Madonna of the Slums

Under False Colors

as Countess Olga