Marguerite Leslie (born Marguerite Hedman, April 3, 1884 – 1958) was a Swedish-born English actress.

Marguerite Leslie
Marguerite Leslie, from a 1916 publication
Born
Marguerite Hedman

April 13, 1884
Died1958 (aged 73–74)
OccupationActress
RelativesMartha Hedman (sister)

Early life

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Marguerite Hedman was born in Östersund, Jämtland County, Sweden, the daughter of Johan Hedman and Ingrid Kempe. Her sister Martha Hedman also worked as an actress,[1][2] and later as a writer. The sisters were educated in Sweden, Finland, and London.[3]

Career

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Portrait of Marguerite Leslie, photographed by Arnold Genthe

Marguerite Hedman adopted the name "Marguerite Leslie" as an actress in London,[1] where she appeared in Nero (1906), The Beauty of Bath (1906-1907), My Darling (1907), Concerning a Countess (1907),[4] A Scotch Marriage (1907-1908), Penelope (1909),[5] Preserving Mr. Panmure (1911), The Marionettes (1911-1912), At the Barn (1912), and The Vision of Delight (1912).[6]

Her Broadway credits included The Virginian (1904), Penelope (1909-1910), The Secret (1913-1914), Outcast (1914-1915), and The Basker (1916). In Los Angeles she had roles in The Gamblers (1912)[7] and The Money Moon (1912).[8] She also appeared in four silent films, Jim the Penman (1915, now lost), The Question (1916), The Mite of Love (1919, a short), and The Chosen Path (1919).[9]

She was tall,[10] and considered a beauty as a young actress,[3] a "Burne-Jones girl in an English garden-party hat... quite the pinkest and whitest, fresh daisiest thing we have had for a long while," mused one Los Angeles writer.[11] During World War I she worked raising funds for the Red Cross.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Sisters of the Stage" Theatre Magazine (July 1914): 23.
  2. ^ "Turning the Tables on Miss Leslie" Chicago Daily Tribune (May 4, 1913): B2.
  3. ^ a b Ada Patterson, "'London's Loveliest Leading Lady' Goes into 'The Movies'" Green Book Magazine (February 1916): 321-326.
  4. ^ "Marguerite Leslie" The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News (November 9, 1907): 1.
  5. ^ J. P. Wearing, The London Stage, 1900-1909: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel (Scarecrow Press 2013): various. ISBN 9780810892941
  6. ^ J. P. Wearing, The London Stage, 1910-1919: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel (Scarecrow Press 2013): various. ISBN 9780810893009
  7. ^ "New Principals for the Belasco; Marguerite Leslie and Orrin Johnson to Appear" Los Angeles Times (August 31, 1912): II5.
  8. ^ "Marguerite Leslie to Have Her Chance" Los Angeles Herald (October 4, 1912): 18. via California Digital Newspaper Collection  
  9. ^ Hans J. Wollstein, Strangers in Hollywood: The History of Scandinavian Actors in American Films from 1910 to World War II (Scarecrow Press 1994): 210-211. ISBN 9780810829381
  10. ^ Eileen O'Connor, "What Marguerite Leslie Learned in America" Theatre Magazine (March 1916): 138.
  11. ^ Grace Kingsley, "Fair Picture is Miss Leslie; New Burbank Star Fresh from Dear Old England" Los Angeles Times (August 14, 1912): III4.
  12. ^ Hanna Astrup Larsen, "Norse Legions of Democracy" The American-Scandinavian Review (July-August 1918): 196.
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