Priscilla Dean


Priscilla Dean was an American actress popular in silent film as well as in theatre, with a career spanning two decades.

Biography

She was born on November 25, 1896 in Manhattan, New York City to an active theatrical family. Her mother was popular stage actress Mary Preston Dean, Priscilla Dean made her stage debut at the age of four, appearing in plays starring her parents. From then on, she pursued her stage career at the same time as being educated at a convent school until the age of fourteen. Following her leave from school, Priscilla went to work on stage, then tried to get into the movies.
Dean made her film debut at the age of fourteen in one-reelers for Biograph and several other studios. She was finally signed on to Universal in 1911. She soon gained popularity as the female lead in the comedy series of Eddie Lyons and Lee Moran.
She was propelled to stardom after she appeared in The Gray Ghost in 1917. Following this film, she became very successful in her work. However, when the age of sound dawned, Priscilla's career was severely damaged. She continued to do several low-budget films for minor independent studios during the 1930s, but never regained the popularity she had earned in silent films.
Dean died at her home in Leonia, New Jersey at the age of 91 on December 27, 1987, from injuries related to a fall she had suffered the previous September.

Marriages

Silent
Sound