Jane Dornacker (1947 - 1986)

American Rock Musician, Actress, and Comedian.  Her music career included lead vocals for the San Francisco rock group “Leila and the Snakes”.  She appeared in theater and standup performances, including the role of the stoic ‘nurse Murch’, in the 1983 movie “The Right Stuff”.  In the mid 1980’s, she worked as a traffic reporter for […]

Françoise Dorléac (1942 - 1967)

Actress. Born the eldest of four daughters of film actor Maurice Dorléac and Renée Deneuve in Paris, France. She first appeared on stage at the age of 10, and made her film debut in the movie short “Mensonges” in 1957. She studied at the Conservatoire d’Art Dramatique, supporting herself as a model for Christian Dior. […]

Ruth Donnelly (1896 - 1982)

Actress. Best known for her film roles as wisecracking matrons, Donnelly began her career on the stage at 17, in the chorus of a touring show. Her Broadway debut occurred in 1914’s “A Scrap of Paper,” a performance that brought her to the attention of George M. Cohan, who cast her in comic roles. Her […]

Jeff Donnell (1921 - 1988)

Actress. Born Jean Marie Donnell she moved to Towson, Maryland with her parents and older sister when she was a toddler. She took dancing and piano lessons while in school and loved the “Mutt and Jeff” comic series so much that she adopted the name ‘Jeff’ as her nickname. After graduating in 1938 from Towson […]

Solveig Dommartin (1961 - 2007)

Actress. Born in Paris, France, she appeared mainly in international films is best known for her roles in the Wim Wenders movies “Wings of Desire”, (1987), “Until the End of the World”, (1991) and “Faraway, So Close”, (1993). She also had a memorable performance in the films “The Prisoner of St. Petersburg”, (1989) and “I […]

Edit Domjan (1932 - 1972)

Actress.  Protean leading lady of stage and screen.  Born in Budapest,  she made her performing debut in 1954 as a chorus girl with the National Dance Theatre,  and by 1960 had become one of Hungary’s leading stage stars.  Highly versatile,  her repertory ranged from the classics (Shakespeare,  Moliere,  Shaw) to musicals (“The Threepenny Opera”) to […]

Beatrice Dominguez (1896 - 1921)

Actress. She made screen history dancing a tango with  Rudolph Valentino in “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” (1921). This was the first time that sultry dance appeared in an American film; the scene captivated audiences and made Valentino a star. It is still one of the most famous moments of silent cinema.  Dominguez was […]

Dora Doll (1922 - 2015)

Actress. She enjoyed a lengthy career in French movies and went on to make her mark internationally. Born Dorothea Hermina Feinberg, she moved with her family to Paris during her early youth and made her film debut at the age of sixteen with an uncredited part in “The Curtain Rises” (1938). She may perhaps be […]

Claire Anne Dodd Dodd (1911 - 1973)

Actress. She starred in several dozen Hollywood features during the 1930s. Born Dorothy Arlene Dodd, to Walter and Ethel Cool Dodd (who later divorced), she was raised in Iowa until she moved to New York in her mid-teens in order to support herself. While working on Broadway in the “Ziegfeld Follies”, she was spotted by […]

Tamara Dobson (1947 - 2006)

Actress. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Dobson is best remembered for her role as Cleopatra Jones in the 1973 blaxploitation film, “Cleopatra Jones”, and the 1975 follow-up film, “Cleopatra Jones And The Casino Of Gold”. A 6’2 former fashion model, she became known as the Fashionable Kung Fu Queen and was also considered to be […]

Cardella DiMilo (1930 - 2003)

Actress. Born in Oklahoma, she was a popular blues singer when she made her film debut in “Blackenstein” (1973), which she also composed the music for. Her other credits included “Dolemite” (1975), “Rude” (1982), “Penitentiary” (1979) and “Pirates Of Silicon Valley” (1999). For television, she was best remembered for the role of ‘Lucille Pinkney’ on […]

Josephine Dillon (1884 - 1971)

Drama Coach,  Actress.  The first wife of  Clark Gable.  The daughter of prominent attorney  Henry Clay Dillon,  she was born in Denver and raised in Long Beach,  California.  After graduating from Stanford University in 1908,  she pursued an unremarkable stage career and then set up an acting studio in Portland,  Oregon,  in 1923.  There she […]

Edith Hallor Dillon (1896 - 1971)

Entertainer.  An ebullient singer and dancer,  she enjoyed fleeting fame on the Broadway stage during the World War I years.  She co-starred in the hit Jerome Kern musical “Leave It to Jane” (1918) and had major roles in “The Peasant Girl” (1915),  Irving Berlin’s all-star revue “Dance and Grow Thin” (1917),  and the “Ziegfeld Follies […]

Phyllis Ada Driver Diller (1917 - 2012)

Comedienne, Actress. She created a stage persona of a wild-haired, eccentrically dressed housewife who makes self-deprecating jokes about her age and appearance, her terrible cooking, and a husband named “Fang”. She began her career at a radio station in Oakland, California, in 1952. In November of that year, she began filming a television show titled […]

Diana Dill (1923 - 2015)

Actress. She was formerly married to actor Kirk Douglas and during their union (1943 to 1951), their children Michael Douglas (who went on to become a successful actor and producer) and Joel Douglas were born. Diana Love Dill was the daughter of a high-ranking Bermudian military official and made a name for herself as a […]

Marlene Dietrich (1901 - 1992)

Actress, Singer. She appeared in over 70 motion pictures in a career that spanned from 1914 to movie releases made after her death in 1992.  Born just outside Berlin, Germany, her father was a police lieutenant (other biographies state he was an Army officer), and she was noted for having a number of affairs, including […]

Rosita Díaz Gimeno (1911 - 1986)

Motion Picture and Stage Actress. She worked in Hollywood with Fox and Paramount in 1930’s, appearing in “Angelina o el Honor de un Brigadier” (1935), “Rosa de Francia” (1935) and “Vida Bohemia” (1938). He returned to Spain and become one of the most important actresses of the cinema of Second Spanish Republic. She was forced […]

Marujita Diaz (1932 - 2015)

Singer, Actress. A versatile performer, she shall be remembered as a long-time star of the Spanish stage, screen, and recording studio. Born Maria del Dulce Nombre Diaz Ruiz, she was raised within the theatrical milieu, made her professional stage debut at six, had her 1948 silver screen bow in “The Cicada”, and achieved her first […]

Gita Dey (1931 - 2011)

Actress. She was a star of the Bengali stage and screen for over 70 years. Raised in Calcutta, she broke into the Bengali language film industry, based in her home city’s Tollygunge, at age six in 1938. She continued acting following her marriage at 15 and over the years was seen in more than 200 […]

Hazel I. Derthick (1906 - 1989)

Motion picture actress. She appeared in the film classic “The Wizard of Oz” (1939).  Family links:  Spouse:  A. J. Resmondo (1894 – 1971)* *Calculated relationship Note: She is interred under her married name Resmondo

Silvia Derbez (1932 - 2002)

Actress. Born in San Luis de Potosí,  Mexico,  Derbez made her 1947 film debut in “La Novia del Mar” (“Girlfriend of the Sea.”) The following year she was seen in a classic of Mexican cinema,  “Allá en el Rancho Grande.” During the 1950s she won equal fame for her work in theatre, cinema and television. […]

Nadine Dennis (1896 - 1979)

Nadine Dennis Nadine Dennis was born on December 2, 1896 in Kansas, USA. She was an actress, known for Has Anybody Seen My Gal (1952), Week-End at the Waldorf (1945) and The Campus Vamp (1928). She died on April 10, 1979 in Studio City, California, USA.

Nora Denney (1927 - 2005)

Actress. Also credited as Dodo Denney, she is best remembered for her role as ‘Mrs. Teevee’ in the classic childrens film, “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory” (1971). Among her other work was the films, “Good Old Days” (1966), “Who’s Minding The Mint?” (1967), “I Walk The Line” (1970), “Do Not Fold, Spindle, Or Mutilate” […]

Carol Dempster (1901 - 1991)

Carol Dempster Carol Dempster was born in Duluth, Minnesota on December 9th, 1901. Her family moved to California when she was a baby. Carol attended Ruth St. Denis’s dancing school and was noticed by D.W. Griffith. She got her first small screen role in his masterpiece “Intolerance” (1916), playing one of the Babylonian dancers. Her […]

Ellen Demming (1922 - 2002)

Actress. She is best remembered for her role as ‘Meta Bauer’ on the CBS daytime television soap opera “The Guiding Light,” which she played from 1953 until 1974. Born Betty Ellen Weber, she graduated Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, and studied under actress Maude Adams. She started her acting career on the stage in Summer […]

Constance Adams DeMille (1874 - 1960)

Actress. Born Constance Adams in Orange, New Jersey, after graduating from school, she was performing on Broadway when she met and later married director-producer Cecil B. DeMille in August 1902. She only appeared in one film “Where The Trail Divides” (1914), but remained married to Cecil B. DeMille until his death in 1959. (bio by: […]

Orane Demazis (1894 - 1991)

Actress. In a theater and motion picture career that lasted over fifty years, she appeared in twenty four films. Born to an Alsatian family that had emigrated to Algeria, she took her stage name from the city of her birth, and from Mazis, a neighboring town. She entered the Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Paris, […]

Jacqueline Delubac (1907 - 1997)

Actress. She was born Isabelle Jacqueline Basset in Lyon (Rhône)(some sources say 2 or 27 May) and died in Créteil (Val de Marne). She began her career as dancer. Later, she moved to cinema with his husband Sacha Guitry, with wich was married from 1935 to 1939. She is remembered for her films Chérie (1930), […]

Daniele Delorme (1926 - 2015)

French Actress. Delorme, born Gabrielle Danièle Marguerite Andrée Girard, was a very prominent actress and producer in French cinema. She acted in her first film “La bella aventure” in 1942 using her birth name, but afterwards adopted the stage name Delorme. Delorme would go on to appear in more than 65 films including “The Crook” […]

Claire Delmar (1901 - 1959)

Actress. Born Clara Eloise Loerch, in Kentucky, she was married to cinematographer Hal Mohr, (1926-29). She made her big screen debut in the silent film, The Jazz Singer” (1927), followed by “Grain of Dust” (1928) and “The Wedding March” (1928). She died at age 57 in a homicide at Carmel by the Sea, California. (bio […]