Bessie Love
116 movies · 7 TV shows
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Sep 9, 1898
- Died
- Apr 26, 1986 (age 87)
- Place of birth
- Midland, Texas, USA
- Also known as
- Juanita Horton
Biography
Bessie Love (born Juanita Horton, September 10, 1898 - April 26, 1986) became one of the most recognizable faces of early American cinema. After her family moved to Los Angeles, she was sent to Biograph Studios, where legendary director D.W. Griffith noticed her talent and cast her in several films, including Intolerance (1916).
During the silent era, she gained popularity for her lively, wholesome screen presence and worked with major stars such as Douglas Fairbanks. Her career soared in the 1920s, and she was named a WAMPAS Baby Star in 1922, marking her as one of Hollywood’s most promising young actresses.
Read the full biography
Love made a successful transition to sound films—something many silent stars struggled with. Her performance as Hank Mahoney in The Broadway Melody (1929) earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, cementing her place in film history.
In the 1930s, she moved to the United Kingdom, where she continued acting in film, theatre, radio, and later television. Her career ultimately spanned from 1915 to 1983, making her one of the longest‑working performers of her generation.
She died on April 26, 1986, in London at age 87.
Profiles IMDb
Known for
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★ 6.6 On Her Majesty's Secret Service
1969 · Film
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★ 6.7 The Hunger
1983 · Film
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★ 7.1 Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
1916 · Film
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★ 6.9 Reds
1981 · Film
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★ 6.8 The Barefoot Contessa
1954 · Film
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★ 7.0 Ragtime
1981 · Film
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★ 5.1 The Broadway Melody
1929 · Film
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★ 6.7 The Lost World
1925 · Film
Bessie Love: movies and TV shows
Acting (123)
- 1983 The Hunger
as Lillybelle
- 1981 Reds
as Mrs. Partlow
- 1981 Ragtime
as Old Lady - T.O.C.
- 1981 Lady Chatterley's Lover
as Flora
- 1978
- 1978 Edward & Mrs. Simpson
as Lady Cunard
- 1977 Gulliver's Travels
as (voice)
- 1976 The Ritz
as Maurine
- 1974 Vampyres
as American Lady
- 1974 Mousey
as Mrs. Richardson
- 1971 Catlow
as Mrs. Frost
- 1971 Sunday Bloody Sunday
as Answering Service Lady
- 1969 On Her Majesty's Secret Service
as Baccarat Player (uncredited)
- 1968 Isadora
as Mrs. Duncan
- 1967 I'll Never Forget What's'isname
as American tourist (uncredited)
- 1967 Battle Beneath the Earth
as Matron
- 1966 Promise Her Anything
as Pet Shop Customer
- 1965 The Wild Affair
as Marjorie's Mother
- 1965 The Pistol
as Martha Burroughs
- 1964 I Think They Call Him John
as Narrator (voice)
- 1964
- 1964 Children of the Damned
as Mrs. Robbin
- 1963
- 1962
- 1962
- 1961 The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
as Bunny
- 1960 Too Young to Love
as Mrs. Busch
- 1959
- 1958 Nowhere to Go
as Harriet P. Jefferson
- 1958 Next to No Time
as Becky Wiener
- 1957 The Story of Esther Costello
as Art Gallery Customer
- 1955 Touch and Go
as Mrs Baxter
- 1955
- 1954 The Barefoot Contessa
as Mrs. Eubanks
- 1954 The Weak and the Wicked
as Prisoner
- 1952 The Magic Box
as Bride's Mother in Wedding Group
- 1951 No Highway in the Sky
as Plane Passenger (uncredited)
- 1945 Journey Together
as Mrs. Mary McWilliams
- 1941 Atlantic Ferry
as Begonia Baggot
- 1931 Morals for Women
as Helen Hutson
- 1930 See America Thirst
as Ellen
- 1930 Good News
as Babe
- 1930 Conspiracy
as Margaret Holt
- 1930 They Learned About Women
as Mary
- 1930 Chasing Rainbows
as Carlie Seymour
- 1929 The Girl in the Show
as Hattie Hartley
- 1929 The Idle Rich
as Helen Thayer
- 1929 The Broadway Melody
as Harriet 'Hank' Mahoney
- 1928 Anybody Here Seen Kelly?
as Mitzi Lavelle
- 1928 Sally of the Scandals
as Sally Rand
- 1928
- 1928 The Matinee Idol
as Ginger Bolivar
- 1927 Dress Parade
as Janet Cleghorne
- 1927 A Harp in Hock
as Nora Banks
- 1927 Rubber Tires
as Mary Ellen Stack
- 1927 The American
as Jane Wilton
- 1926 Going Crooked
as Marie
- 1926 Young April
as Victoria
- 1926 Lovey Mary
as Lovey Mary
- 1926 The Song and Dance Man
as Leola Lane
- 1925 The King On Main Street
as Mary Young
- 1925
- 1925 A Son of His Father
as Nora Shea
- 1925 Soul-Fire
as Teita
- 1925 The Lost World
as Paula White
- 1924 Tongues of Flame
as Lahleet
- 1924 Sundown
as Ellen Crawley
- 1924 Dynamite Smith
as Violet
- 1924 The Silent Watcher
as Mary, his wife
- 1924 Those Who Dance
as Veda Anargas
- 1924 The Woman on the Jury
as Grace Pierce
- 1924 Torment
as Marie
- 1923 Gentle Julia
as Julia
- 1923 Slave of Desire
as Pauline Gaudin
- 1923 St. Elmo
as Edna Earle
- 1923 The Eternal Three
as Hilda Gray
- 1923 Human Wreckage
as Mary Finnegan
- 1923 The Purple Dawn
as Mui Far
- 1923 The Strange Adventures of Prince Courageous
as Bernice
- 1923 The Ghost Patrol
as Effie Kugler
- 1923 Three Who Paid
as John Caspar / Virginia Cartwright
- 1922 Deserted at the Altar
as Anna Moore (The Country Girl)
- 1922 The Village Blacksmith
as Rosemary Martin
- 1922 Bulldog Courage
as Gloria Phillips
- 1922 Forget Me Not
as Ann, The Girl
- 1922 The Vermilion Pencil
as Hyacinth
- 1921 The Sea Lion
as Blossom Nelson
- 1921 The Swamp
as Mary
- 1921
- 1921 The Honor of Rameriz
as The Geologist's Wife
- 1921 Penny of Top Hill Trail
as Penny
- 1920 The Midlanders
as Aurelie Lindstrom
- 1920 Bonnie May
as Bonnie May
- 1920 Pegeen
as Pegeen O'Neill
- 1919 A Fighting Colleen
as Alannah Malone
- 1919 Over the Garden Wall
as Peggy Gordon
- 1919 Cupid Forecloses
as Geraldine Farleigh
- 1919 The Little Boss
as Peggy Winston (The Little Boss)
- 1919 A Yankee Princess
as Patsy O'Reilly
- 1919 The Wishing Ring Man
as Joy Havenith
- 1919
- 1919 The Enchanted Barn
as Shirley Hollister
- 1918 The Dawn of Understanding
as Sue Prescott
- 1918 A Little Sister of Everybody
as Celeste Janvier
- 1918 How Could You, Caroline?
as Caroline Rogers
- 1918 The Great Adventure
as Rags
- 1917 Polly Ann
as Polly Ann
- 1917 Wee Lady Betty
as Wee Lady Betty
- 1917 The Sawdust Ring
as Janet Magie
- 1917 Cheerful Givers
as Judy
- 1917 A Daughter of the Poor
as Rose Eastman
- 1917 Nina, the Flower Girl
as Nina
- 1916 The Heiress at Coffee Dan's
as Waffles
- 1916 A Sister of Six
as Prudence
- 1916 Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
as The Bride of Cana (Judean Story)
- 1916 Hell-to-Pay Austin
as Briar Rose Dawson
- 1916 Stranded
as The Girl
- 1916 The Mystery of the Leaping Fish
as The Little Fish Blower
- 1916 Reggie Mixes In
as Agnes
- 1916 The Good Bad-Man
as Amy
- 1916 The Aryan
as Mary Jane Garth
- 1916 The Flying Torpedo
as Hulda
- 1916 Acquitted
as Helen Carter
Behind the camera (1)
- 1919 A Yankee Princess
Screenplay
Talk shows and appearances (12)
- 2018
- 2000
- 1997
- 1980 Hollywood
3 episodes
- 1942
- 1931
- 1929
- 1923
- 1923
- 1922
- 1922
- 1922