Mary Pickford was a Canadian-American motion picture actress. She began working as a motion-picture extra at D.W. Griffith’s Biograph Studio, starring in his film, “The Lonely Villa”. She switched permanently to the screen, with Adolph Zukor’s Famous Players Company. Her meteoric rise from an anonymous player to a star with her own production company was attributable not only to the phenomenal popularity of her films, but also to her dedication to her craft, and her meticulous care in creating quality entertainments. The innocence and sweetness of her characters in films such as “Hearts Adrift”, and “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm” enthralled audiences everywhere. With the release of “Tess of the Storm Country”, she was firmly established as “America’s Sweetheart.” She was paid an exorbitant $350,000 per film at one point of time. She took the lead in organizing the United Artists Corporation with Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, and Douglas Fairbanks. Her popularity continued unabated in “Pollyanna”, “Little Lord Fauntleroy”, and “Coquette” (her first talking picture, for which she won an Academy Award for best actress). With the onset of talkies her popularity waned, and she retired from acting. She married thrice, and became an alcoholic. In her later years, she shunned public life, and became a recluse.