Lois Wilson, pretty by normal human standards, seemed to be relegated in Hollywood to the most unglamorous of heroines, but her acting skills brought them to life. Her best surviving film is Miss Lulu Bett (1921) as the spinster sister virtually enslaved by her family, who dares to break free for a life of her own. She also garnered great notices for the now lost Only 38 (1923), where she played a still young widow expected to spend the rest of her life in dutiful mourning. She plays the appealing but conventional heroine in The Covered Wagon (1923), her most popular film, and as a glamorous change of pace, landed the role of Daisy in the now lost The Great Gatsby (1926). Wilson moved into character parts in the talkies, appearing in films into the late 40s. She was also a regular in the TV soap The Guiding Light.

©2001, by Greta de Groat. All Rights Reserved

Last revised November 28, 2008