Francine Larrimore

Francine Larrimore, born Francine La Remee on August 22, 1898, in Verdun, France, was a French-born American actress who built a career spanning stage, screen, and radio. She died on March 7, 1975. Brought to the United States as a child, Larrimore received her education in New York City.

Her family background was deeply rooted in the performing arts. Her parents were J. Louis La Remee and Sarah Adler, the latter a sister of Yiddish stage star Jacob Adler. Through her mother, Larrimore was a cousin of Stella Adler and Luther Adler. Her sister, Stella Larrimore (1905–1960), was married to stage and screen actor Robert Warwick.

Larrimore began her stage career in 1910 with Where There's a Will, launching a Broadway presence that would continue through 1934. Her early credits included The Switchboard (1913), The Salamander (1914), Some Baby! (1915), Moonlight Mary (1916), Here Comes the Bride (1917), Parlor, Bedroom and Bath (1917), Double Exposure (1918), Sometime (1918), and Scandal (1919). In 1921, she played Theodora Gloucester in the Broadway comedy Nice People. Her subsequent credits included Nobody's Business (1923), Nancy Ann (1924), Parasites (1924), and His Queen (1925).

Among her most prominent stage work, Larrimore created the role of Roxie Hart in the 1926 Broadway premiere of Chicago. That same year she appeared in This Was a Man. She later starred in Brief Moment and also appeared in Let Us Be Gay, Shooting Star (1933), and Spring Song (1934).

Alongside her stage work, Larrimore appeared in a number of silent films during the 1910s, including The Devil's Darling (1915), The Royal Pauper (1917), Max Wants a Divorce (1917), Max in a Taxi (1917), and Somewhere in America (1917), the last of which co-starred Max Linder. Most of these films are now considered lost. Her sound film work consisted of two pictures, John Meade's Woman (1937) and The Devil's Daughter (1939). In 1941, she was part of the radio program Grand Central Station. Larrimore withdrew from acting in 1939.