Louise Brooks
Louise Brooks was an influential American actress and cultural icon of the silent film era, born Mary Louise Brooks in 1906 in Cherryvale, Kansas. She began her career as a chorus girl and gained prominence in the 1920s through performances in the Ziegfeld Follies, which led to a contract with Paramount Pictures. Brooks starred in several notable films, including her breakout role in *Pandora's Box* (1929), where her portrayal of the sexually liberated character Lulu solidified her status as a symbol of the flapper generation. Known for popularizing the bobbed haircut, Brooks's style and independent persona resonated with the evolving roles of women during the 1920s. Although her film career waned with the advent of sound films, her work remains highly regarded among scholars of cinema, particularly in the context of silent films and early Hollywood. Additionally, Brooks is remembered as an early lesbian idol and a figure of sexual liberation, whose legacy continues to influence fashion and culture today. Her unique contributions to film and fashion make her a lasting legend in cinematic history.
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Louise Brooks
- Born: November 14, 1906
- Birthplace: Cherryvale, Kansas
- Died: August 8, 1985
- Place of death: Rochester, New York
Identification: American film star
Known for her silent film roles, Louise Brooks personified the flapper style of the 1920s. She popularized the bobbed haircut, which helped to define an era of women’s fashion and still endures today.
Born Mary Louise Brooks in Cherryvale, Kansas, in 1906, Brooks began her career as a chorus girl and dancer in 1922. She performed in the Ziegfeld Follies in 1925, which led to industry exposure and a five-picture contract with Paramount Pictures. Paramount released several titles featuring Brooks, including her first role as the uncredited character known as “The Moll” in The Street of Forgotten Men (1925). She appeared in six films in 1926, including a supporting role in her first comedy, The American Venus (1926), and her first lead role in the comedy A Social Celebrity (1926) opposite Adolphe Menjou. Brooks made another four films the following year, but it was not until 1928 that her career truly took off, with her memorable turn as a vampy Parisian in A Girl in Every Port and her critically acclaimed role as a runaway in hiding in Beggars of Life. She also appeared in several European films by German director G. W. Pabst and Italian director Augusto Genina.
In 1929, Brooks starred in Pandora’s Box, garnering critical acclaim for her portrayal of the sexually promiscuous Lulu. The film made her an icon and helped to define the flapper generation of women who were sexually uninhibited, used cosmetics, and bobbed their hair, a style that came to be known as the Lulu. In 1929, Brooks broke with Paramount after the company claimed that her voice was not suited for sound film, following her refusal to voice her role in The Canary Murder Case. The studio hired another actor to dub the role, and after acting in two mainstream films in the early 1930s, Brooks worked very little in American film again.
Impact
Louise Brooks was a film icon of the silent era. Her work is highly regarded by students of silent films, early Hollywood, and the Weimar cabaret scene of 1930s Berlin. She is also considered to be an early lesbian idol, and her iconic bobbed hair still remains popular. Brooks’s independent nature, sexual liberation, and sense of style make her an enduring legend of the silver screen.
Bibliography
Brooks, Louise. Lulu in Hollywood. Rev. ed. New York: University of Minnesota Press, 2000.
Cowrie, Peter. Lulu Forever. Minneapolis, Minn.: Rizzoli, 2006.
Paris, Barry. Louise Brooks: A Biography. New York: University of Minnesota Press, 2000.