Consuelo Flowerton

Consuelo Flowerton (August 9, 1900 – December 21, 1965) was an American actress and model whose Broadway career spanned from 1921 to 1933. She is also remembered for her appearances in silent film and for her prominence as a recognizable public figure during and after World War I.

During the war years, Flowerton appeared on several widely circulated propaganda posters created by illustrator Howard Chandler Christy. These posters promoted causes including the Red Cross, food rationing, and the purchase of Liberty bonds, and their broad distribution earned Flowerton the nicknames "poster girl" and "war poster girl." Her visibility through this work established her public profile before her stage career was fully underway.

Flowerton's theatrical work began in 1921, when she performed with the Ziegfeld Follies and appeared in the Broadway production Good Morning Dearie. The following year she appeared in Queen o' Hearts. She had at least one sister, who later became the Baroness Guglielmo Terraciano of Naples. In 1923, Flowerton married Dutch orchestra conductor and composer Dirk Foch, and the couple relocated to Vienna, where Foch served as conductor of the Vienna Concert Society. She stepped away from acting at the time of the marriage. Newspapers of the period widely romanticized the relationship, reporting that Foch had first fallen in love with Flowerton after seeing her image on a World War I poster and had spent years searching for her. The couple had one daughter, Nina Foch, who later became an actress.

Flowerton divorced Foch in the Hague, Netherlands, in 1926, with the couple sharing custody of their daughter. Financial strain, attributed to difficulty sustaining their lifestyle on Foch's income, was reported as a contributing factor. In 1932, Flowerton alleged infidelity on Foch's part and obtained a second divorce through American courts, this time securing full custody of their daughter. The Salt Lake Tribune devoted a full-page story to the proceedings.

After separating from Foch, Flowerton resumed her stage career. She originated a role in Remote Control in 1929 and went on to appear in Lysistrata in 1930. In 1931 she appeared in three Broadway plays: An American Tragedy, Six Characters in Search of an Author, and The Sex Fable. Her Broadway work continued in 1933 with the musical Melody and the musical Let 'Em Eat Cake, in which she originated a role.

Flowerton also worked in silent film, playing Olympe in the 1921 adaptation of Camille, based on Alexandre Dumas fils's novel La Dame aux Camélias, and appearing in The Sixth Commandment in 1924. Her film credits also include In a Music Shoppe from 1928.

In 1963, Flowerton married Robert E. Cushman, a retired banker and lawyer. She died of cancer at the New York Infirmary in December 1965 at the age of 65.