Personal Info
Known For:
Acting
Birthday:
October 14, 1893
Place of Birth:
Springfield, Ohio, USA
Social Media
Lillian Gish
Biography
Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893 – February 27, 1993) was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987.
She was a prominent film star of the 1910s and 1920s, particularly associated with the films of director D.W. Griffith, including her leading role in Griffith's seminal Birth of a Nation (1915). Her sound-era film appearances were sporadic, but included memorable roles in the controversial western Duel in the Sun (1946) and the offbeat thriller Night of the Hunter (1955). She did considerable television work from the early 1950s into the 1980s, and closed her career playing, for the first time, opposite Bette Davis in the 1987 film The Whales of August.
The American Film Institute (AFI) named Gish 17th among the greatest female stars of all time. She was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 1971, and in 1984 she received an AFI Life Achievement Award.
Known For
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | The Flapper | (archive footage) |
| 2019 | I Am Not a Racist | Elsie |
| 2016 | The Women Who Run Hollywood | Self (archive footage) |
| 2014 | And the Oscar Goes To... | Self (archive footage) |
| 2011 | Night Hunter | |
| 2010 | Sigrid Holmquist | Sigrid Holmquist (archive footage) |
| 2009 | Early Directors on Directing | Self |
| 2008 | Mary Pickford: The Muse of the Movies | Self (archive footage) |
| 2007 | Cannes: All Access | Self (archive footage) |
| 2002 | D.W. Griffith - Years of Discovery 1909-1913 | |
| 1998 | Star Power: The Creation Of United Artists | Lucy - The Girl (archive footage) |
| 1995 | Moving Pictures: 'The Night of the Hunter' | Self |
| 1988 | Lillian Gish: The Actor's Life for Me | Herself, Archive footage |
| 1987 | The Whales of August | Sarah Webber |
| 1987 | Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood | Self |
| 1986 | Sweet Liberty | Cecelia Burgess |
| 1986 | The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | Mrs Loftus |
| 1986 | Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown | Self (archive footage) |
| 1985 | Night of 100 Stars II | Self |
| 1984 | Lillian Gish | Self |
| 1983 | Hambone and Hillie | Hillie Radcliffe |
| 1983 | Hobson's Choice | Miss Molly Winkle |
| 1982 | Night of 100 Stars | Self |
| 1981 | Thin Ice | Grandmother |
| 1978 | A Wedding | Nettie Sloan |
| 1976 | Twin Detectives | Billy Jo Haskins |
| 1975 | Black Shadows on a Silver Screen | Self (archive footage) |
| 1974 | Letter to Jane: An Investigation About a Still | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| 1970 | Langlois | Self |
| 1969 | Arsenic and Old Lace | Martha Brewster |
| 1967 | Warning Shot | Alice Willows |
| 1967 | The Comedians | Mrs. Smith |
| 1967 | The Comedians in Africa | Self (uncredited) |
| 1966 | Follow Me, Boys! | Hetty Seibert |
| 1963 | Mrs. Winchester's House | Narrator |
| 1962 | The Great Chase | |
| 1961 | The Legend of Rudolph Valentino | Self (archive footage) |
| 1961 | The Spiral Staircase | Mrs. Warren |
| 1960 | The Unforgiven | Mattilda Zachary |
| 1958 | Orders to Kill | Mrs. Summers |
| 1955 | The Night of the Hunter | Rachel Cooper |
| 1955 | The Cobweb | Victoria Inch |
| 1955 | Film Fun | (archive footage) |
| 1953 | The Trip to Bountiful | Carrie Watts |
| 1948 | Portrait of Jennie | Mother Mary of Mercy |
| 1946 | Duel in the Sun | Laura Belle McCanles |
| 1946 | Miss Susie Slagle's | Miss Susie Slagle |
| 1943 | Top Man | Beth Warren |
| 1942 | Commandos Strike at Dawn | Mrs. Bergesen |
| 1933 | His Double Life | Alice Chalice |
| 1930 | One Romantic Night | Princess Alexandra |
| 1928 | The Wind | Letty |
| 1927 | The Scarlet Letter | Hester Prynne |
| 1927 | Annie Laurie | Annie Laurie |
| 1927 | The Enemy | Pauli Arndt |
| 1926 | La Bohème | Mimi |
| 1925 | Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ | Chariot Race Spectator (uncredited) |
| 1924 | Romola | Romola |
| 1923 | The White Sister | Angela Chiaromonte |
| 1922 | From Farm to Fame | Lillian Gish |
| 1921 | Orphans of the Storm | Henriette Girard |
| 1921 | Screen Snapshots (Series 1, No. 20) | Herself |
| 1920 | Way Down East | Anna Moore |
| 1919 | Broken Blossoms | Lucy Burrows |
| 1919 | True Heart Susie | Susie May Trueheart |
| 1919 | A Romance of Happy Valley | Jennie Timberlake |
| 1919 | The Greatest Question | Nellie Jarvis |
| 1918 | Hearts of the World | The Girl - Marie Stephenson |
| 1918 | The Great Love | Susie Broadplains |
| 1918 | The Greatest Thing in Life | Jeannette Peret |
| 1918 | Lillian Gish in a Liberty Loan Appeal | |
| 1917 | Souls Triumphant | Lillian Vale |
| 1916 | Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages | The Woman Who Rocks the Cradle |
| 1916 | Daphne and the Pirate | Daphne La Tour |
| 1916 | The Children Pay | Millicent |
| 1916 | An Innocent Magdalene | Dorothy Raleigh |
| 1916 | Diane of the Follies | Diane |
| 1916 | The House Built Upon Sand | Evelyn Dare |
| 1916 | Sold for Marriage | Marfa |
| 1916 | Pathways of Life | |
| 1915 | The Birth of a Nation | Stoneman's Daughter Elsie |
| 1915 | Enoch Arden | Annie Lee |
| 1915 | The Lily and the Rose | Mary Randolph |
| 1915 | His Lesson | Participant in Mob Scene (uncredited) |
| 1915 | Captain Macklin | Beatrice |
| 1915 | The Lost House | Dosia Dale |
| 1914 | The Hunchback | The Orphan - as an Adult |
| 1914 | Judith of Bethulia | The Young Mother |
| 1914 | Home, Sweet Home | Payne's Sweetheart |
| 1914 | A Duel for Love | |
| 1914 | The Battle of the Sexes | Jane Andrews, the daughter |
| 1914 | The Green-Eyed Devil | Mary Miller |
| 1914 | The Quicksands | |
| 1914 | The Tear That Burned | Anita - the Truant |
| 1914 | Lord Chumley | Eleanor Butterworth |
| 1914 | The Folly of Anne | Anne |
| 1914 | The Angel of Contention | Nettie - the Angel |
| 1914 | The Rebellion of Kitty Belle | Kitty Belle |
| 1914 | Man's Enemy | Grace Lisle |
| 1914 | The Sisters | May |
| 1913 | Just Gold | The First Brother's Sweetheart |
| 1913 | During the Round-Up | The Ranchero's Daughter |
| 1913 | A Modest Hero | The Wife |
| 1913 | The Left-Handed Man | The Old Soldier's Daughter |
| 1913 | The Conscience of Hassan Bey | The Rugmaker's Daughter |
| 1913 | So Runs the Way | Fred's Wife |
| 1913 | The Mothering Heart | The Wife |
| 1913 | The Battle at Elderbush Gulch | Melissa Harlow |
| 1913 | A Woman in the Ultimate | Verda |
| 1913 | An Indian's Loyalty | The Ranchero's Daughter |
| 1913 | The Little Tease | Girl in bandana |
| 1913 | A Timely Interception | The Farmer's Daughter |
| 1913 | The Lady and the Mouse | The First Sister |
| 1913 | Madonna of the Storm | The Mother |
| 1913 | A Misunderstood Boy | The Daughter |
| 1913 | The House of Darkness | The Nurse |
| 1913 | The Blue or the Gray | |
| 1913 | Oil and Water | In First Audience (uncredited) |
| 1913 | The Stolen Bride | |
| 1913 | The Unwelcome Guest | At Auction (uncredited) |
| 1912 | The Musketeers of Pig Alley | The Little Lady |
| 1912 | Two Daughters of Eve | In Theatre Crowd |
| 1912 | Gold and Glitter | The Young Woman |
| 1912 | A Cry for Help | The Maid |
| 1912 | An Unseen Enemy | Eldest Sister |
| 1912 | The New York Hat | Customer in Shop / Outside Church |
| 1912 | The Painted Lady | Belle at Ice Cream Festival |
| 1912 | So Near, Yet So Far | A Friend |
| 1912 | The Burglar’s Dilemma | Birthday Wellwisher |
| 1912 | In the Aisles of the Wild | The Younger Daughter |
| 1912 | The One She Loved | |
| 1912 | The Informer | Walk on role |
| 1912 | My Baby | |
| 1912 | Brutality | At Theatre |
| Year | TV Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Hollywood | Self |
| 1978 | The Kennedy Center Honors | Self |
| 1977 | The Love Boat | Mrs. Williams |
| 1973 | The American Film Institute Salute to ... | Self |
| 1968 | The Dick Cavett Show | Self - Guest |
| 1963 | Mr. Novak | Maude Phipps |
| 1962 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Bessie Carnby |
| 1961 | The Defenders | Louisa Clarendon |
| 1961 | The Defenders | Mrs. Cooper |
| 1956 | Tony Awards | Self - Presenter |
| 1956 | Tony Awards | Self - Award Accepter |
| 1955 | Playwrights '56 | |
| 1955 | The Alcoa Hour | Esther Crampton |
| 1951 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | Grandma Moses |
| 1950 | Robert Montgomery Presents | |
| 1948 | The Ed Sullivan Show | Self |
| 1948 | The Philco Television Playhouse | Abby |
| 1948 | The Philco Television Playhouse | Narrator |
| 1948 | The Philco Television Playhouse | Carrie Watts |