Dorothy Gibson

Dorothy Winnifred Brown was born at the home of her parents, Pauline Caroline Boesen Brown and John Brown on May 17, 1889 at 320 Willow Avenue in Hoboken, New Jersey. John Brown died while she was an infant and Leonard Gibson became her stepfather four years later. She had two siblings but both died in infancy. Later, Pauline and Dorothy moved to Manhattan.

In 1909 Dorothy met George Battier Jr. They were soon married, but the marriage was short-lived. Soon, she became an actress for Eclair Studios, making one-reelers.

Her first husband was George Battier, a Memphis-born pharmacist. They married in February 1910 but separated a few months later. She married Jules Brulatour in 1917 but they split up in 1919, finally divorcing in 1923. Brulatour later married the blonde silent-film star Hope Hampton. Brulatour died in 1946, the same year as Dorothy--she on February 17 and he on October 19.

In 1912, she finished The Easter Bonnet (1912) and travelled to Europe. By April she was ready to return.

On April 10, 1912, she and her mother boarded the Titanic in Southampton, England. They occupied a cabin on E-Deck.

She later appeared in the film, Saved from the Titanic (1912), a one-reel quickie. It was to be her last. She soon quit the business and married Jules Brulatour. This marriage was also short, lasting only two years.

In 1913 she was involved in a fatal car accident. During the ensuing court case it emerged that the owner of the car she was driving, Eclair studio financier Jules Brulatour, intended to divorce his wife and marry Dorothy; and so he did.

In 1928 Dorothy left with her mother for Europe, never to see the States again. She lived in Italy and France. During World War II she was suspected of spying for the Nazis, but this is unsubstantiated.

When the Titanic struck an iceberg at 11:40 on the 15th, she described it as "a long sickening crunch". She and her mother boarded the first lifeboat to leave with friends William Sloper and Fredrick Seward.