Olive Thomas

Only daughter in a family of three. Her brothers were Michael James (born February 1893) and William L. (born May 1898).

Oliva R. Duffy was born on October 20, 1894, in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, the eldest of three children, with two younger brothers. Olive or Ollie, as she was known to family and friends, did not have much of a childhood. Life in industrial Pittsburgh was depressing and grim with its smoky factories and hard living. She married Bernard Krug Thomas at the age of 16 (which wasn't uncommon at the time), but the marriage wasn't happy and they divorced two years later. By that time Olive had left Pittsburgh for New York, where she found work in a department store. On a lark, she entered a competition for the most beautiful girl in New York City and, unsurprisingly, won. With the ensuing publicity, she caught the eye of Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. and immediately joined his famed Follies. An outstanding addition, men went wild over her beauty. She also posed nude for the famed Peruvian artist Alberto Vargas. As a result of her sudden fame, she was signed to a contract with Triangle Pictures.

Discovered by Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. for his "Follies of 1915". He also cast her in the "Ziegfeld Midnight Frolics", which was a racier, after-hours show atop the New Amsterdam Theater for mostly male audiences. She often wore nothing but balloons, which the gents would eagerly burst with their cigars. She also became Ziegfeld's mistress.

Her first film was Beatrice Fairfax (1916). Later that year, she married Jack Pickford, brother of screen star Mary Pickford. The relationship was a stormy one.

In 1917, she starred in four more films: Madcap Madge (1917), A Girl Like That (1917), Broadway Arizona (1917) and Indiscreet Corinne (1917). With five films on her resume, Olive was the toast of Hollywood.

She made three films in 1918 and six in 1919.

By 1920, Olive was at the top of the film world.

She continued to make good pictures, most notably, Youthful Folly (1920) and The Flapper (1920), which was an overwhelming success.