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(Long believed to be a lost film, Beyond the Rocks was rediscovered in 2004 in a private collection in The Netherlands and is now available on DVD.) Swanson continued to make costume drama films for the next few years. She starred in Beyond the Rocks (1922) with her longtime friend Rudolph Valentino.
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She later appeared in a series of films directed by Sam Wood. In the space of two years, Swanson rocketed to stardom and was one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood. DeMille, who turned her into a romantic lead in such films as Don't Change Your Husband (1919), Male and Female (1919) with the famous scene posing as "the Lion's Bride" with a real lion, Why Change Your Wife? (1920), Something to Think About (1920), and The Affairs of Anatol (1921). In 1919 she signed with Paramount Pictures and worked often with Cecil B. Surviving films in which they appear together include The Danger Girl (1916), The Sultan's Wife (1917), and Teddy at the Throttle (1917). Conquering her fears, however, she often cooperated with Vernon. Director Charley Chase recalled that she was "frightened to death" of Vernon's dangerous stunts. With their great screen chemistry, the pair became popular. Swanson moved to California in 1916 to appear in Mack Sennett's Keystone comedies opposite Bobby Vernon. Essanay hired her to feature in several movies, including His New Job, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin.
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She reportedly asked to be in the movie just for fun. Swanson made her film debut in 1914 as an extra in The Song of Soul for Essanay. Her parents soon separated and she and her mother moved to California. It was not her intention to enter show business, but on a whim one of her aunts took her to a small film company in Chicago called Essanay Studios for a visit and Swanson was asked to come back to work as an extra.Īfter a few months as an extra working with others like Charlie Chaplin, and making $13.50 a week, Swanson left school to work full-time at the studio. She also spent time in Key West, Florida. Army, the family moved frequently and Swanson ended up spending most of her childhood in Puerto Rico, where she learned Spanish. Her father was from a strict Lutheran Swedish American family, and her mother was of German, French, and Polish ancestry.īecause of her father's attachment to the U.S. She attended Hawthorne Scholastic Academy. Gloria May Josephine Swanson was born in a small house in Chicago in 1899 to Adelaide (née Klanowski) and Joseph Theodore Swanson, a soldier.