Actresses who played Anne Shirley
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- Little Mary Miles Minter was a child star who was dominated by her mother. At the age of 5 she first appeared on the stage in the play "Cameo Kirby". From that time on she worked steadily without a single vacation. Her greatest stage success was in "The Littlest Rebel", with William Farnum and Dustin Farnum. In 1911, at the age of 9, a New York paper described her as " . . . a ragged, straight-haired, woman-faced little one". She continued on the stage until 1915, when she started her film career. She was being groomed as a Mary Pickford star - a child of innocence. Her early pictures carried this theme with such titles as Lovely Mary (1916), Faith (1916) and Dimples (1916). Mary was described by the press as "of the screen as a sweet, pretty little girl with an abundance of blonde curls, a picture actress slightly bigger than a faint recollection, a little queen with delicate features and endearing young charms". She later worked for Adolph Zukor at Realart Pictures and one of her favorite directors was William Desmond Taylor. While at Realart Mary made a number of films including Anne of Green Gables (1919), Judy of Rogues' Harbor (1920), Jenny Be Good (1920) and The Little Clown (1921). Her salary, which started at $150 per week in 1915, increased to $2250 per week. At that time she also became involved with Taylor, but it is not known whether Taylor was looking out for his biggest star or if there was any real romance.
Then everything crumbled. On February 1, 1922, Taylor was shot to death in his Hollywood bungalow. His unsolved murder was one of Hollywood's major scandals, coming at the same time as the Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle incident. Though she was never considered a suspect in the murder, when the public learned of Mary's involvement with a man who had questionable dealings with women and was more than twice her age, they boycotted her films. The discovery of her belongings in Taylor's bungalow effectually killed her career in pictures. Mary was so weak from grief that she was barricaded in her home for a month. By the next year she had moved out of the home she shared with her mother and was out of pictures forever.Anne of Green Gables (1919 film) - Actress
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They didn't come packaged any sweeter or lovelier than Anne Shirley, a gentle and gracious 1930s teen film actress who didn't quite reach the zenith of front-rank stardom and retired all too soon at age 26. On film as a toddler, she went through a small revolving door of marquee names before legally settling (at age 16) on the name Anne Shirley, the name of her schoolgirl heroine in Anne's most famous film of all -- Anne of Green Gables (1934).
Manhattan-born Anne was christened Dawn Evelyeen Paris on April 17, 1918. Her father died while she was still a baby, and she and her widowed mother lived a very meager New York existence at first. At the age of 16 months, the child was already contributing to the household finances as a photographer's model, using sundry different monikers, including Lenn Fondre, Lindley Dawn and Dawn O'Day. With this source of monetary inspiration, her mother sought work for her daughter in films as well, and at the age of 4, Anne (billed as Dawn O'Day) made her first feature with The Hidden Woman (1922). She showed enough promise in the film Moonshine Valley (1922), as a young girl who manages to reunite her separated parents, that she and her mother made a permanent move from New York to California. Scarce work for such a young child, but Anne managed to find it with minor roles in The Rustle of Silk (1923) and The Spanish Dancer (1923) for Paramount Pictures. During her adolescence she often appeared as the leading stars' daughter in films such as Mother Knows Best (1928) with Madge Bellamy, Sins of the Fathers (1928) starring Jean Arthur and Liliom (1930) with Charles Farrell. Oftentimes she would play the female star of the film as a child, such as Janet Gaynor's in 4 Devils (1928), Frances Dee's in Rich Man's Folly (1931) and Barbara Stanwyck's in So Big! (1932).
After a rash of unbilled parts, Anne was used by Vitaphone for a series of 1930s short subjects. By her teen years she had developed before the very eyes of Hollywood into a petite and lovely young brunette. Casting agents took notice. Following roles in Rasputin and the Empress (1932) with the three Barrymores and The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933) starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Loretta Young, Anne was tested among hundreds of young aspirants and captured the role of Anne Shirley in Lucy Maud Montgomery's classic novel Anne of Green Gables (1934), imbuing the character with all the spirit and charm (not to mention talent) necessary. She officially became a teen celebrity after changing her moniker for the final time in conjunction with the release of the film.
Prominent misty-eyed ingénue leads came her way as a result of playing a swamp girl in Steamboat Round the Bend (1935) alongside Will Rogers and in M'Liss (1936) opposite John Beal, but her resume became littered with meek B-level comedies and weak dramas, such as Chasing Yesterday (1935), Too Many Wives (1937) and Meet the Missus (1937), that did little to advance her career. Finally at age 19, she found a role to match her "Green Gables" success playing Barbara Stanwyck's daughter in the classic weeper Stella Dallas (1937). The interaction between the two was magical, and both Barbara and Anne were nominated for Oscars (Anne in the supporting category) for their superb portrayals . Both lost, however, to Luise Rainer and Alice Brady, respectively.
During this time of major success, Anne met and eventually married actor John Payne in 1937. The popular Hollywood couple had one child, Julie Payne, who became an actress for a time in the 1970s. Her subsequent career was full of promise, but with every quality picture bestowed upon her, such as Vigil in the Night (1940) and The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941), came a faltering one that hurt her career, including Career (1939) and West Point Widow (1941). Especially disappointing was her long-anticipated "Green Gables" sequel Anne of Windy Poplars (1940), which received very lackluster reviews.
The still-young actress finished on top, however, opposite Dick Powell in the classic movie mystery Murder, My Sweet (1944). Divorced from John Payne in 1943 and tiring of the Hollywood rat race she had endured since a child, however, Anne decided to end her career after her second marriage, to the movie's producer Adrian Scott, in 1945. Never an ambitious actress, Anne stayed with her career as long as she did primarily to please her mother. Her three-year marriage to Scott was unable to withstand the legal troubles of her husband's 1947 blacklisting (he was one of the "Hollywood 10" imprisoned during the McCarthy era for his communist affiliations). Her 1949 marriage to screenwriter Charles Lederer, the nephew of actress Marion Davies, was her longest and most fulfilling. Their son, Daniel, was born the following year. He inherited his father's writing talent and grew up to become a poet.
Never tempted to resume her career at any time, she remained a charming and gracious socialite in the Hollywood circle. A painter on the side, she at one point entertained the thought of becoming a behind-the-scenes worker, such as a dialogue coach, but it was never pursued aggressively. Her husband's sudden death in 1976 triggered a severe emotional crisis for Anne, who turned for a time to alcohol. Recovered, she lived the rest of her life completely out of the limelight, dying in 1993 of lung cancer at age 75. Her granddaughter by daughter Julie (via her marriage to screenwriter Robert Towne) is the actress Katharine Towne, who has appeared in such films as Mulholland Drive (2001).
Not as well remembered as an actress of her award-worthy caliber should be, perhaps had Anne Shirley given Hollywood a longer tryout and added a bit more bite to her rather benign, sweetly sentimental image, her star would be brighter today. Nevertheless, her film work has unarguably brightened the silver screen.Anne of Green Gables (1934 film)
Anne of Windy Poplars (1940 film)- Carole Lorimer was born on 4 January 1939 in Marylebone, London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Anne of Green Gables (1952), The Secret Garden (1952) and Emil and the Detectives (1952).Anne of Green Gables (1952 TV series)
- Sara Leighton was born on 12 April 1934 in Camberwell, Surrey, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Anne of Green Gables (1952), The Woman Eater (1958) and No Place for Jennifer (1950).Anne of Green Gables (1952 TV series)
- Toby Tarnow began studying acting at The Lorne Green Academy of Radio Arts in Canada at the age of 8 and, at the age of 10, she became a professional actress in live radio drama and CBC Radio Schools Broadcasts.
She studied theater technique with two premier acting teachers in Toronto, Josephine Barrington and Basya Hunter. Miss Barrington taught classical technique and elocution. Basya was trained in NYC by actress Maria Ouspenskaya who brought what became known as "The Method" to America.
Tarnow began her career as a professional actress in Canada, starting on radio in 1947 and subsequently becoming nationally known, starring in film, theater, and television. In 1952, she played a leading role in the first television drama broadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Company. Toby was the first Anne in the musical version of Anne of Green Gables, broadcast live by the CBC on March 4, 1956.
In 1954 at the age of 17 she was awarded the Maurice Rosenfeld Memorial Award for The Most Outstanding Newcomer to Canadian Radio. Kate Reid was the recipient the previous year.
Some highlights of Toby's television career are: as Princess Summerfall Winterspring on the Canadian version of the Howdy Doody Show on CBC television, a regular panelist on the Canadian To Tell the Truth, a regular on the children's show, Mr Dressup, a continuing character on the NBC soap opera Moment of Truth, and a continuing role in the ABC miniseries Amerika. She also had her own children's television show, Nursery School Time with Miss Toby and Hoppy.
Some of Toby's many theater credits include: Ophelia in King Lear, The Girl in the Seven Year Itch, Mrs. Lynde in A Dolls House, Madge in Picnic, Edna Edison in The Prisoner of Second Avenue, and Hester Smit in Hello and Goodby. In 1960, she was the co-founder (with internationally acclaimed director, Harvey Hart) and chief fund-raiser for the Civic Square Theater in Toronto. In 1964, Ms. Tarnow co-chaired the fund-raising campaign for the Toronto Arts Foundation and successfully raised $1M from the community to build the St. Lawrence Center Theater Complex in Toronto.
In the 1970s, she began selling her writing to television as well as writing and producing radio drama. She incorporated Toby Tarnow Productions in 1969. In 1981, she co-founded Tarnow/Linton Productions in New York, with the charter of acquiring and developing new product for theater and film. In August 1989, she moved to New Hampshire.
In 2006, Toby began teaching creative drama workshops at the Boys and Girls Club of the Souhegan Valley, in Milford, New Hampshire, the only Boys & Girls Club in the country to have been built around a professional theater. The goal of the six-week workshops were to encourage the creative process, as applied to theater, and build confidence, cooperation, and collaboration. The students write, cast, direct and perform their own plays on the stage in the theater for their parents.
In February 2006, Toby created a One-Act Playwriting Contest for students with the goal of finding three winning plays that are produced and performed at the Amato Center at the Boys and Girls Club of the Souhegan Valley. The winning student writers attend casting and rehearsals in order to experience the process of creating a theater production from the page to the stage under her guidance. 2012 marked the 7th Annual Playwriting Workshop and Festival!
She has lead a two-week Theater Camp at the Club each summer since 2006 with students, ages 8 to 12, who write and performed their own plays. In fall 2006, she directed a youth production of "Anne of Green Gables- the Musical."Followed by students productions of Carousel, Once Upon
Toby is Founder and Artistic Director of the Riverbend School of Theater Arts, a program of the Boys & Girls Club. With classes for children and youth in Costume Design and Construction, Scene Study, Vocal , Dance, Comedia Del Arte, and Production Apprenticeships in all areas of backstage!
In 2012, she was awarded the Children's and Youth Theatre Award by the New Hampshire Theatre Awards.Anne of Green Gables (1956 TV film) - Mireille Lachance is known for Anne De Green Gables (1957), Il était une fois dans l'est (1974) and Le soleil se lève en retard (1977).Anne de Green Gables (1957 TV film)
- Kathy Willard is known for The DuPont Show of the Month (1957), Anne of Green Gables (1958) and Camera Three (1955).Anne of Green Gables (1958 TV film)
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Kim Braden was born in 1949 in London, England, UK. She is an actress and producer, known for Star Trek: Generations (1994), To Serve Them All My Days (1980) and Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987). She is married to David Carson. They have two children.Anne of Green Gables (1972 TV series)
Anne of Avonlea (1975 TV series)- Eiko Yamada was born on 13 June 1953 in Koyasu, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. She is an actress, known for Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (2013), Anime san jushi (1987) and Metal Gear Solid: Integral (1999).Akage no An (1979 anime)
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Megan (pronounced Mee-gan) has two children, a daughter, Lyla, and a son, Russel. Megan comes from a showbiz family: father Ted Follows, mother Dawn Greenhalgh, and sister Samantha Follows are all actors; her other sister, Edwina Follows, is a producer and writer; and her brother Laurence Follows is a producer. Has done many commercials, the first of which was at the age of 9. Has appeared in many theatrical productions, including "Romeo and Juliet", "The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds", and "Seven Lears: The Pursuit of the Good." Won two Gemini awards for her performances in Anne of Green Gables (1985) and Anne of Avonlea (1987). Megan met her husband, Christopher Porter, while filming Deep Sleep (1990), where he was a gaffer.Anne of Green Gables (1985 TV miniseries)
Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel (1987 TV miniseries)
Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story (2000 TV miniseries)- Bryn McAuley was born on 9 June 1989 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is an actress, known for Hotel Transylvania: The Series (2017), Caillou (1997) and Total Drama (2007).Anne of Green Gables: The Animated Series (2000–2001)
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Mckenzie Sullivan is a Canadian actress and writer, known for Anne: Journey to Green Gables (2005), Out of the Shadows (2012), and The Piano Man's Daughter (2003). She is the daughter of director/producer Kevin Sullivan and executive producer Trudy Grant. She is the sister of Taylor Sullivan. She was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Anne: Journey to Green Gables (2005 animated film)- Vinuri Ramanayake is known for Anne (2007).Anne (2007 TV series)
- Poorni Kamaladiwela is known for Anne (2007).Anne (2007 TV series)
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Elisabeth Toft is known for Inspiration Found (2008), Buena Gente (2009) and All Gifted: The Meet & Greet (2010).Inspiration Found (2008 short film)- Actress
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Barbara Hershey was born Barbara Lynn Herzstein in Hollywood, California, to Melrose (Moore) and Arnold Nathan Herzstein, a horse racing columnist. Her father, born in Manhattan, was from a Jewish family (from Hungary and Russia), and her mother, originally from Arkansas, had English and Scots-Irish ancestry. Hershey was raised in a small bungalow, and had aspirations of being an actress from her earliest memories.
The multi-award-winning actress has been in some of Hollywood's most memorable films. She has been a winner of an Emmy and a Golden Globe for A Killing in a Small Town (1990). She won two consecutive Best Actress awards at the Cannes Film Festival, (which is unprecedented) for Shy People (1987) and A World Apart (1988). She won a Gemini Award for Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning (2008) for PBS and a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Vienna International Film Festival.
Hershey was nominated for an Academy Award for The Portrait of a Lady (1996).
She's worked with some of the world's great directors, among them: Martin Scorsese, William Wyler, Woody Allen, Jane Campion and Darren Aronofsky.
The versatile actress was first discovered by a talent agent while she was attending Hollywood High School. She began working in television, The Monroes (1966), and film, With Six You Get Eggroll (1968), with Doris Day. And with roles in The Baby Maker (1970) and Boxcar Bertha (1972), Hershey quickly advanced to starring roles.
The 1980's catapulted Hershey's film career, when she starred in The Stunt Man (1980) with Peter O'Toole, The Entity (1982), The Right Stuff (1983), The Natural (1984) with Robert Redford, Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) with Woody Allen, Hoosiers (1986) with Gene Hackman, Tin Men (1987), Shy People (1987), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), A World Apart (1988) and Beaches (1988) with Bette Midler.
Hershey returned to television in 1990 with her highly-lauded performance in A Killing in a Small Town (1990), Paris Trout (1991), Return to Lonesome Dove (1993), the British mini-series, Daniel Deronda (2002) and the last season of Chicago Hope (1994).
During the same period, Hershey remained active in features. She was nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe for The Portrait of a Lady (1996). She also starred in Merchant-Ivory's A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1998) and the award-winning Australian film, Lantana (2001).
In the 2010 years, Hershey has performed in James Wan's cult-hit, Insidious (2010) and Darren Aronofsky's award-winning Black Swan (2010), playing Natalie Portman's insane mother.
Hershey resides in Los Angeles.Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning (2008 TV film)- Actress
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Hannah Endicott-Douglas was born on 29 November 1994 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is an actress, known for Slasher (2016), Casino Jack (2010) and Good Witch (2015).Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning (2008 TV film)- Actress
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Rina Hidaka is known for Tiger & Bunny the Movie: The Beginning (2012), Tamako Market (2013) and Love After World Domination (2022). She has been married to Yuma Uchida since 1 January 2024.Konnichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables (2009 anime)- Actress
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Green Gables Fables (2014–2016 web series)- Actress
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Mary Kate Wiles starred as Lydia Bennet in the Emmy Award-winning 2012 series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, and has since gone on to star in a slew of digital series and films, and has made multiple appearances on popular shows like Young Sheldon, The Middle, and Code Black. Her many digital projects boast over 125 million views and over 1 million dollars in successful Kickstarters. She's an accomplished producer, both with Shipwrecked Comedy and on her own, most recently creating radio play podcast adaptations of Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea.Kissing in the Rain (2014 web series)- Actress
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Isabella Jacqueline is known for The Decadent and Depraved (2018), Darkest Age and Christine (2018).Anne of Green Gables (2014 short film)- Actress
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Laura Eklund Nhaga is known for Project Green Gables (2015), Hotel Swan Helsinki (2020) and Demi & Ace (2022).Project Green Gables (2015–2018 web series)- Actress
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Canadian actress, Ella Ballentine was born in 2001, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is the recipient of the Canadian Screen Award (2018), Runner-up of the Fangoria Chainsaw Award (2017), Honourable Mention of the Whistler Film Festival (2020).
Ella started her film career in a Hallmark TV movie, Baby's First Christmas (2012), starring Casper Van Dien. Since then she has played leading and supporting roles alongside such distinguished actors as Susan Sarandon (The Calling (2014)), Martin Sheen (Anne of Green Gables (2016), L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables: The Good Stars (2017), Anne of Green Gables: Fire and Dew (2017)), Ryan Reynolds and Rosario Dawson (The Captive (2014)), Laurence Fishburne and Thomas Jane (Standoff (2016)), and Zoe Kazan in the critically acclaimed feature, The Monster (2016). Ella's lead performance in the feature, Black Conflux (2019) received great reviews from across the press and earned her an Honourable Mention from the Whistler Film Festival (2020). The feature, The Dark and the Wicked (2020) starring, Marin Ireland and Michael Abbott Jr. teamed her up second time with director Bryan Bertino. Films in which Ella has appeared have won several awards and have been screened at a number of film festivals, including Cannes, Santa Barbara, St. John's, Whistler, Tribeca, Montreal, Sitges, etc.
Ella's television experience includes roles in the historical fantasy Reign (2013) and on the medical drama series Saving Hope. She played a guest starring role in It Takes a Village (2018). Her role as the iconic character of Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables: Fire and Dew (2017) earned Ella her first award, the Canadian Screen Award in 2018.
Ella's theatre career encompasses independent and professional productions staged in her native Toronto, beginning with The Railway Children (Roundhouse Theatre, 2010) and then Numbers (Toronto Fringe Festival, 2013). Her triple-threat role in Numbers earned her the first of many award nominations for excellence by a young performer in film, theatre, and music. Ella was one of the young actors chosen to play the coveted role of Little Cossette/Young Éponine in Mirvish Productions' Les Miserables (Princess of Wales, 2013-2014), starring Ramin Karimloo and Earl Carpenter.L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables (2016 TV film)
L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables: The Good Stars (2017 TV film)
L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables: Fire & Dew (2017 TV film)- Actress
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Amybeth McNulty is an Irish-Canadian actress. She is known for her starring role as Anne Shirley in the CBC/Netflix drama series Anne with an E (2017-2019), based on the 1908 novel Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. She was born in Letterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland, the only daughter of an Irish father and a Canadian mother. She also has Scottish heritage. She was home-schooled. She was a member of An Grianán's "Youth Theatre", where she trained in acting and ballet.Anne with an E (2017–2018 TV series)