Gladys Brockwell

With auburn hair, brown eyes, and an average build, Gladys Brockwell stood 5'7" and made a lasting mark on early American cinema. She was born on September 26, 1894, in Brooklyn, New York, and began acting on stage at age three, following in the footsteps of her mother, actress Billie Brockwell. Her screen debut came in 1913 with the Lubin Company in Philadelphia, and she later worked with D.W. Griffith. Joining Fox Studios, she became one of the busiest actresses in town and smoothly transitioned into sound films before her career was cut short.

Brockwell married director Robert Broadwell in 1915, but the union ended in divorce in 1918. That same year she wed Harry Edwards, though the marriage was annulled in 1919. She was also involved with advertising man Thomas Stanley Brennan at the time of her death.

On June 27, 1929, Brockwell was a passenger in a car driven by Brennan when it plunged over a 75-foot embankment in Calabasas. She was pinned under the vehicle and suffered compound fractures to her jaw, a fractured skull, and other serious injuries. Brennan survived, saying dust and cinders had blown into his eyes, and he was exonerated by the coroner's jury. While hospitalized, Brockwell received four blood transfusions but died from peritonitis on July 2, 1929, at age 34. Her career spanned 16 years, from 1913 to 1929. She was American and Caucasian, with real, natural breasts.