Frances Nordstrom

Frances Nordstrom, born in June 1883 in Fort Davis, Texas, was an American actress, playwright, and composer who worked in stock theater, vaudeville, and on Broadway. Her father, United States Cavalry Captain Charles E. Nordstrom, commanded Fort Davis, where she spent her first sixteen years. She was the younger sister of actress Marie Nordstrom. Following their father's death, the family relocated to Washington, where Nordstrom attended the Georgetown Convent school.

Her interest in the theater took root during a visit to a play in San Antonio, Texas, which she later described to a reporter in 1908 as having entranced her youthful mind and prompted her resolve to become an actress. The sisters' subsequent exposure to theater in Washington deepened that ambition for both of them. Nordstrom began her professional acting career with the Baldwin-Melville Stock Company in Buffalo, New York, in 1903, progressing through character roles and ingenue parts to eventually work as a leading woman. A severe burn that led to blood poisoning forced her to leave acting temporarily in 1904. By 1909, she had joined Oliver Morosco's stock theater company in California.

On November 8, 1905, Nordstrom married actor James Carlisle Spottswood in New Orleans.

Nordstrom turned to writing before World War I, first producing vaudeville sketches and one-act plays before completing Room 44, a three-act farce, and additional stage works. Her output earned her a three-year contract with Cohan and Harris covering all plays she wrote during that period. She occasionally performed in her own work, as she did in the 1920 Broadway production of The Ruined Lady. Her Broadway writing credits include The Ruined Lady, Snapshots of 1921, Lady Bug, and Music Box Revue. Her Broadway performing credits include Cheer Up, which she appeared in during 1912, as well as The Ruined Lady, Snapshots of 1921, Lady Bug, Music Box Revue, and Cheer Up. After relocating to Los Angeles, she extended her writing career into film.