Claire McDowell

Claire McDowell (born Claire MacDowell on November 2, 1877, in New York City; died October 23, 1966, in Hollywood, California) was an American actress whose career spanned both the Broadway stage and the silent film era. The daughter of Eugene A. MacDowell and Fanny Reeves, she received her early training in acting from her aunt, the actress Fanny Davenport, whose second husband, Melbourne MacDowell, was a brother of Claire's father.

McDowell began her theatrical career at the age of 17 as an understudy in a company headed by producer Charles Frohman. Her Broadway work took place between 1900 and 1909 and included three productions: Hearts Are Trumps (1900), To Have and to Hold (1901), and Herod (1909).

Her film career began in 1908 and extended through 1945, encompassing approximately 350 pictures. She appeared in Douglas Fairbanks' The Mark of Zorro (1920) and went on to costar in two major productions of the silent era, The Big Parade and Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, playing a mother in each. Over the course of her screen work, McDowell transitioned from earlier roles into character and mother types. She retired at the age of 38 before eventually returning to acting, continuing to take on maternal roles.

In 1906, McDowell married silent screen character actor Charles Hill Mailes, with whom she appeared in multiple films, including The Mark of Zorro. The couple had two sons, Robert and Eugene. Mailes died in 1937. McDowell died in Hollywood on October 23, 1966, ten days before what would have been her 89th birthday.