This site is intended to serve as a gathering place for information on some of more underappreciated silent film stars--the "emotional actresses," as they were called in the trade, those who specialized in drama. Comediennes and sex symbols seem to remain in the minds of fans for years, and are particularly popular to new generations of silent film lovers. Yet dramas were a staple of the silent screen and produced some of the brightest and most beloved stars. These special women have been largely forgotten by later generations, and their films are seldom revived. This is my own personal selection of divas (as well as my own subjective definition of "diva"), so if your favorite is not here, check my links below for other silent film actresses. So far, I have concentrated on stars of American films, since they are the most accessible and familiar to me. However, since silent film was an international art, I intend to include divas of other lands. As films from other areas of the world become available, perhaps we will have the opportunity to rediscover more of the great ladies of the silent screen.

NOTE: This site is no longer being updated as of April 2024 as it's no longer easily accessible to me. It's long been impossible to keep up with the broken links. Remember that if you find a broken link that you wanted to follow, copy the URL and paste it into the Wayback Machine, and look at a cache from a few years back. And you might want to bookmark the URL for this page since it site itself will doubtless go offline at some point when Stanford pulls down the legacy webspace, so it may also only be available via the Wayback Machine

Here you will find my websites devoted to four of these silent stars. The sites include old and new articles, pictures, filmographies, contemporary reviews, and reviews of videos.

The Norma Talmadge Website			The Clara Kimball Young Website
The Pauline Frederick Website			The Alice Joyce Website

Some of these stars are still well known, some are now obscure. Each page contains a little information about the actress, links to information about her on the web, and further information in print sources.

Gloria Swanson			Pola Negri
Mae Murray			Alla Nazimova
Theda Bara			Greta Garbo
Lillian Gish			Blanche Sweet
Mae Marsh			Elsie Ferguson
Corinne Griffith			Anita Stewart
Geraldine Farrar			Priscilla Dean
Louise Brooks			Asta Nielsen
Francesca Bertini			Lyda Borelli
Pina Menichelli			Henny Porten
Vera Kholodnaya			Ruan Lingyu

These actresses, while never achieving the top rank of stardom and often overlooked even in their own time, are here celebrated for their exceptional dramatic talent. Their presence often gives distinction to an otherwise nondescript film, and in a great film they have a real chance to shine.

Bessie Love			Betty Compson
Irene Rich			Lois Wilson