Anna Q. Nilsson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anna Q. Nilsson
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Nilsson in 1925
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| Born |
Anna Quirentia Nilsson
March 30, 1888 Ystad, Sweden
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| Died | February 11, 1974 (aged 85) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1911–1954 |
| Spouse(s) |
Guy Coombs
(m. 1916; div. 1917)J. Marshall Gunnerson
(m. 1922; div. 1925) |
Anna Quirentia Nilsson (born March 30, 1888 – died February 11, 1974) was an actress from Sweden. She became very famous in American silent movies.
Contents
Early Life in Sweden and America
Anna Nilsson was born in Ystad, Sweden, in 1888. Her middle name, Quirentia, came from her birthday, March 30. This day is also known as Saint Quirinius' Day.
When she was 8 years old, her family moved. Her father got a job at a sugar factory in Hasslarp, Sweden. Anna was a very good student and got top grades. After school, she worked as a sales clerk. This was unusual for a young woman from a working-class family back then. But Anna had a big dream: she wanted to go to the United States.
In 1905, she moved to the United States. She arrived at Ellis Island, which was the main entry point for immigrants. She quickly found work as a nursemaid and learned English very fast.
Her Acting Career
Becoming a Silent Film Star
In 1907, Anna Nilsson was called "Most beautiful woman in America." A famous artist named Penrhyn Stanlaws chose her as a model. This helped her get her first movie role in 1911. She starred in the film Molly Pitcher.
She worked for the Kalem studio for several years. Later, she started working for other film companies. Some of her important silent films include Regeneration (1915) and Seven Keys to Baldpate (1917). In 1921, she visited Sweden and made her only Swedish movie, Värmlänningarna.
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During the 1920s, Anna became very popular. She worked for many big studios like Paramount. In 1923, she got hurt while filming a scene. She was driving a train through a forest fire for the movie Hearts Aflame. She needed a week to get better, but it didn't stop her career. That year, she made nine movies.
In 1926, she was named Hollywood's most popular woman. She even met the Swedish Crown Prince Gustav Adolf when he visited Hollywood. In 1928, she received a record number of fan letters. She got about 30,000 letters each month! That same year, she broke her hip after falling off a horse. She worked hard for a year to recover. Her last silent film was Blockade.
Moving to Sound Films
When movies started having sound, Anna Nilsson's career changed. She began to get smaller roles. Between 1930 and 1950, she appeared in 39 sound films. Many of these roles were not even credited.
One of her well-known sound film roles was in The Farmer's Daughter (1947). She played the Swedish mother of the character played by Loretta Young. She also famously played herself in the movie Sunset Boulevard (1950). In this film, she was called one of the "waxworks."
Anna Nilsson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It is located at 6150 Hollywood Boulevard. She was the first actress born in Sweden to receive this special honor.
Personal Life
Anna Nilsson was married twice. She was married to actor Guy Coombs from 1916 to 1917. Later, she married John Marshall Gunnerson, a shoe merchant, from 1922 to 1925.
She passed away in Sun City, California, on February 11, 1974. Her death was due to heart failure. Anna was a Lutheran and supported the Republican Party. She was a fan of Dwight D. Eisenhower during the 1952 presidential election.
Images for kids
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Advertisement for the film Who's Guilty? (1916)
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Advertisement for Enemies of Children (1923)
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See Also
In Spanish: Anna Q. Nilsson para niños
