Diana Miller

With her striking red hair and expressive eyes, Diana Miller was a classic Hollywood beauty of the silent era. Born Ruth Diana Moreland on March 18, 1902, in Seattle, Washington, she was raised by her mother after her parents divorced. As a teenager, she moved to Los Angeles, where she befriended actor Wallace Reid, who helped her land a job at the Famous Players-Lasky studio. She spent five years working as an extra before being fired, but that setback didn't stop her. Fox signed her in 1924, and she was cast in the drama Honor Among Men.

Miller quickly became one of the busiest actresses in Hollywood. In 1925 alone, she appeared in nine films, including The Hunted Woman, The Kiss Barrier, and The Fighting Heart with George O'Brien. Known for playing "heavy" roles and vamps, the American actress made a mark in the industry. She married director George Melford on November 26, 1925, a man twenty-five years her senior. Soon after, she decided to quit acting and become a housewife. Her final film was the 1926 western The Cowboy and The Countess.

In the spring of 1927, Miller was diagnosed with tuberculosis. She spent more than six months in the Pottenger Sanitarium in Monrovia, California. Tragically, she died from a pulmonary hemorrhage on December 18, 1927, at the age of twenty-five. She was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. Her career lasted only two years, but in that short time she appeared in numerous films and left a lasting impression.