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Lillian Gish

Personal Information

Known ForActing
GenderFemale
Born / DiedOct 14, 1893 (Died at 100)
Zodiac Sign♎Libra
Place of BirthSpringfield, Ohio, USA
Career Span1920 – 1993
Known Credits131 Titles
Official Links
ActingPopularity Score 1.7

Lillian Gish

Also known as:Lillian Diana GishThe First Lady of American CinemaDorothy Elizabeth Carter릴리안 기쉬+3 more
Total Works

131

115 movies • 16 shows

Avg Rating

6.5 / 10

across rated releases

Box Office

—

worldwide gross

Global Reach

#2

TMDB star index

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.

Signature Roles & Milestones

The Night of the Hunter
7.9
as Rachel Cooper
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
7.1
as The Woman Who Rocks the Cradle
The Unforgiven
6.2
The Unforgiven
1960•movie
as Mattilda Zachary

Full Filmography & Credits

Showing 131 titles featuring Lillian Gish

The Night of the Hunter
7.9

as Rachel Cooper

The Birth of a Nation
5.9

as Stoneman's Daughter Elsie

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
7.1

as The Woman Who Rocks the Cradle

The Unforgiven
6.2
The Unforgiven
1960•movie

as Mattilda Zachary

Duel in the Sun
6.4
Duel in the Sun
1946•movie

as Laura Belle McCanles

The Love Boat
6.2
1 eps
The Love Boat
1977•series

as Mrs. Williams

The Wind
7.3
The Wind
1928•movie

as Letty

Portrait of Jennie
7.2
Portrait of Jennie
1948•movie

as Mother Mary of Mercy

Way Down East
6.9
Way Down East
1920•movie

as Anna Moore

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
7.3

as Chariot Race Spectator (uncredited)

Orphans of the Storm
6.8

as Henriette Girard

The Musketeers of Pig Alley
6.1

as The Little Lady

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
7.9
1 eps

as Bessie Carnby

The Whales of August
7.0

as Sarah Webber

A Wedding
6.3
A Wedding
1978•movie

as Nettie Sloan

True Heart Susie
7.0
True Heart Susie
1919•movie

as Susie May Trueheart

The Comedians
6.1
The Comedians
1967•movie

as Mrs. Smith

Sweet Liberty
5.4
Sweet Liberty
1986•movie

as Cecelia Burgess

The Cobweb
5.7
The Cobweb
1955•movie

as Victoria Inch

The Mothering Heart
5.6

as The Wife

The Battle at Elderbush Gulch
5.9

as Melissa Harlow

Follow Me, Boys!
6.7
Follow Me, Boys!
1966•movie

as Hetty Seibert

Judith of Bethulia
6.1
Judith of Bethulia
1914•movie

as The Young Mother

The Scarlet Letter
7.1
The Scarlet Letter
1927•movie

as Hester Prynne

The New York Hat
5.6
The New York Hat
1912•movie

as Customer in Shop / Outside Church

An Unseen Enemy
5.6
An Unseen Enemy
1912•movie

as Eldest Sister

Warning Shot
6.4
Warning Shot
1967•movie

as Alice Willows

Orders to Kill
7.2
Orders to Kill
1958•movie

as Mrs. Summers

Commandos Strike at Dawn
5.5

as Mrs. Bergesen

Hearts of the World
6.1

as The Girl - Marie Stephenson

The Ed Sullivan Show
6.8
1 eps

as Self

The Painted Lady
5.7
The Painted Lady
1912•movie

as Belle at Ice Cream Festival

The Dick Cavett Show
6.8
1 eps

as Self - Guest

A Romance of Happy Valley
6.9

as Jennie Timberlake

Hollywood
8.4
5 eps
Hollywood
1980•series

as Self

La Bohème
6.4
La Bohème
1926•movie

as Mimi

Home, Sweet Home
5.0
Home, Sweet Home
1914•movie

as Payne's Sweetheart

The Greatest Question
6.1

as Nellie Jarvis

The White Sister
7.2
The White Sister
1923•movie

as Angela Chiaromonte

His Double Life
6.5
His Double Life
1933•movie

as Alice Chalice

Letter to Jane: An Investigation About a Still
7.2

as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

The House of Darkness
5.0

as The Nurse

The Defenders
6.3
1 eps
The Defenders
1961•series

as Louisa Clarendon

The Burglar’s Dilemma
5.3

as Birthday Wellwisher

The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
8.0

as Self (archive footage)

Annie Laurie
6.8
Annie Laurie
1927•movie

as Annie Laurie

The Women Who Run Hollywood
7.1

as Self (archive footage)

The Philco Television Playhouse
6.6
1 eps
Robert Montgomery Presents
6.0
2 eps
The Kennedy Center Honors
7.4
1 eps

as Self

Mary Pickford: The Muse of the Movies
5.0

as Self (archive footage)

The Great Chase
6.4
The Great Chase
1962•movie
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
6.0
The South Bank Show
5.6
1 eps
The South Bank Show
1978•series
Romola
6.7
Romola
1924•movie

as Romola

My Baby
5.5
My Baby
1912•movie
Enoch Arden
6.3
Enoch Arden
1915•movie

as Annie Lee

So Near, Yet So Far
5.9

as A Friend

One Romantic Night
6.2
One Romantic Night
1930•movie

as Princess Alexandra

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
6.6

as Mrs Loftus

Night of 100 Stars II
6.8

as Self

The Comedians in Africa
5.8

as Self (uncredited)

Night of 100 Stars
5.8
Night of 100 Stars
1982•movie

as Self

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
7.2
1 eps

as Grandma Moses

Sold for Marriage
5.9
Sold for Marriage
1916•movie

as Marfa

Arsenic and Old Lace
7.0

as Martha Brewster

Lillian Gish
6.5
Lillian Gish
1984•movie

as Self

Hambone and Hillie
5.7
Hambone and Hillie
1983•movie

as Hillie Radcliffe

The Enemy
6.3
The Enemy
1927•movie

as Pauli Arndt

Langlois
5.3
Langlois
1970•movie

as Self

Lionpower from MGM
6.3
Lionpower from MGM
1967•movie

as Self - Mrs. Smith (archive footage) (uncredited)

The Making of 'The Birth of a Nation'
6.0

as Self (Archive footage)

Mr. Novak
7.3
1 eps
Mr. Novak
1963•series

as Maude Phipps

The American Film Institute Salute to ...
6.3
2 eps
Remodeling Her Husband
4.0

Role: Director

Night Hunter
6.0
Night Hunter
2011•movie
The Spiral Staircase
8.0

as Mrs. Warren

Miss Susie Slagle's
8.5

as Miss Susie Slagle

Daphne and the Pirate
1.0

as Daphne La Tour

Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown
8.0

as Self (archive footage)

A Timely Interception
4.8

as The Farmer's Daughter

Twin Detectives
8.0
Twin Detectives
1976•movie

as Billy Jo Haskins

The Movie Album
7.5
The Movie Album
1932•movie

as (archive footage)

The Alcoa Hour
7.0
1 eps
The Alcoa Hour
1955•series

as Esther Crampton

The Legend of Rudolph Valentino
7.0

as Self (archive footage)

From Farm to Fame
8.0
From Farm to Fame
1922•movie

as Lillian Gish

Top Man
9.0
Top Man
1943•movie

as Beth Warren

The Little Tease
5.0
The Little Tease
1913•movie

as Girl in bandana

Star Power: The Creation Of United Artists
10.0

as Lucy - The Girl (archive footage)

Sigrid Holmquist
7.0
Sigrid Holmquist
2010•movie

as Sigrid Holmquist (archive footage)

Hobson's Choice
7.0
Hobson's Choice
1983•movie

as Miss Molly Winkle

Thin Ice
9.0
Thin Ice
1981•movie

as Grandmother

The Angel of Contention
7.0

as Nettie - the Angel

The Unwelcome Guest
5.0

as At Auction (uncredited)

Lillian Gish: The Actor's Life for Me

as Self (archive footage)

Early Directors on Directing

as Self

I Am Not a Racist
I Am Not a Racist
2019•movie

as Elsie (archive footage) (uncredited)

Two Daughters of Eve

as In Theatre Crowd

Gold and Glitter
Gold and Glitter
1912•movie

as The Young Woman

A Cry for Help
A Cry for Help
1912•movie

as The Maid

The Lily and the Rose

as Mary Randolph

An Innocent Magdalene

as Dorothy Raleigh

The Children Pay
The Children Pay
1916•movie

as Millicent

The Great Love
The Great Love
1918•movie

as Susie Broadplains

The Greatest Thing in Life

as Jeannette Peret

An Indian's Loyalty

as The Ranchero's Daughter

A Woman in the Ultimate

as Verda

Souls Triumphant
Souls Triumphant
1917•movie

as Lillian Vale

The Battle of the Sexes

as Jane Andrews, the daughter

Mrs. Winchester's House

as Narrator

Black Shadows on a Silver Screen

as Self (archive footage)

The Lady and the Mouse

as The First Sister

In the Aisles of the Wild

as The Younger Daughter

The Rebellion of Kitty Belle

as Kitty Belle

The Tear That Burned

as Anita - the Truant

The Sisters
The Sisters
1914•movie

as May

The Lost House
The Lost House
1915•movie

as Dosia Dale

The Informer
The Informer
1912•movie

as Walk on role

Oil and Water
Oil and Water
1913•movie

as In First Audience (uncredited)

Brutality
Brutality
1912•movie

as At Theatre

The Flapper
The Flapper
2021•movie

as (archive footage)

Discovering: Robert Mitchum

as Self (archive footage)

Tony Awards
1 eps
Tony Awards
1956•series

as Self - Award Accepter

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
4 eps

as Mrs Loftus