Actress. She will be best remembered for her lead role as 'Clementina Wing' in "The Story Of Clementina" (1915). The dramatic silent film which was directed by Emile Chautard, and also starred Edward Martindel, Lincoln Plumer, and George Cowl, tells the story of an accomplished portrait painter Clementina Wing, who sacrifices all self-interest to her art, and complies with the request of Tommy Burgrave, a fellow artist, that she paint a portrait of Tommy's wealthy Uncle Quixtus, whose unhappy life has made him unsociable. Quixtus is about to be taken advantage of by Lena Fontaine, an adventuress when Clem intervenes. At a dinner party given by Quixtus, Clem is transformed from her drab dowdiness into a dazzling young woman and impresses Quixtus with her charms. Will Hammersley, an old friend whom Quixtus had suspected of an affair with his wife, dies and entrusts his daughter to Clementina and Quixtus. At first, Quixtus declines the responsibility, but the child arouses Clem's instinct of motherhood; she marries Quixtus and they accept the child as their own. She was born as Pauline Beatrice Libbey (later changed to Libby), in Boston, Massachusetts, to Richard O. Libbey and his wife Loretta Elisabeth Fisher on August 12, 1883. Her father worked as a yardmaster for the Old Colony Railroad and later became a salesman. Her parents later separated when she was a toddler and they eventually divorced in about 1897. She was raised by her mother whom she remained closed to all of her life. She was educated locally and grew up with a fascination with show business. She decided to pursue an acting career and put her goals in the direction towards the theater. She studied acting, singing, and dancing at the Miss Blanchard's Finishing School in Boston, Massachusetts, where she later graduated. Her father was not happy with his daughter's choice of becoming an actress and instead tried to discourage her from that and encouraged her to instead to become an elocution (is the study of formal speaking in pronunciation, grammar, style, and tone as well as the idea and practice of effective speech and its forms) teacher. She later ignored her father's wishes and he disinherited her. Due to her father's attitude, she later adopted the surname of 'Frederick' and changed her name to the stage name of Pauline Frederick. She made her stage debut as a chorus girl in the farce, "The Rogers Brothers In Harvard" (1902), but she was later fired. Her other roles include small roles on the stage before she was discovered by the illustrator Harrison Fisher who called her "the purest American beauty." With the help of illustrator Harrison Fisher, she was then able to secure more substantial stage roles. Her stage roles then included, "A Princess Of Kensington" (1903), "It Happened In Nordland" (1904), "The Little Gray Lady" (1906), "The Girl In White" (1906), "When Knights Were Bold" (1907), "Twenty Days In The Shade" (1908), "Toddles" (1908), "Samson" (1908), "The Dollar Mark" (1909), "The Fourth Estate" (1909), and "The Paper Chase" (1912). Nicknamed "The Girl With The Topaz Eyes," she is probably best known for her role as 'Potiphar's Wife' in the play, "Joseph And His Brethren" which was staged in January of 1913. She continued appearing in stage productions for many years before she decided to appear in films in Hollywood, California. She made her actual film debut in the role of 'Donna Roma' in the film, "The Eternal City" (1915). The dramatic film which was based on the novel by Hall Caine, and directed by Hugh Ford and Edwin S. Porter, and also starred Thomas Holding, Kittens Reichert, and Frank Losee, tells the story of Leone, a Papal guard, who is devastated when his wife drowns herself after mistakenly thinking that he had abandoned her. He turns over his son David to be brought up by nuns, then enters a monastery. David is brought to London, England, and is raised to be a beggar and thief until he is rescued by Dr. Roselli, an Italian political refugee, who raises David with his daughter Donna Roma. Years later David gets heavily involved in Italian politics and incurs the enmity of the corrupt Italian Prime Minister, which leads him to discover the hidden secrets of his family's past--and present. Besides, "The Eternal City" (1915), her other many film credits include, "Sold" (1915), "Zaza" (1915), "Bella Donna" (1915), "Lydia Gilmore" (1915), "The Spider" (1916), "Audrey" (1916), "The Moment Before" (1916), "The World's Great Snare" (1916), "The Woman In The Case" (1916), "Ashes Of Embers" (1916), "Nanette Of The Wilds" (1916), "The Slave Island" (1916), "The Slave Market" (1917), "Sapho" (1917), "Sleeping Fires" (1917), "Her Better Self" (1917), "The Love That Lives" (1917), "Double Crossed" (1917), "The Hungry Heart" (1917), "Mrs. Dane's Defense" (1918), "Madame Jealousy" (1918), "La Tosca" (1918), "Resurrection" (1918), "Her Final Reckoning" (1918), "Fedora" (1918), "Stake Uncle Sam To Play Your Hand" (1918), "A Daughter Of The Old South" (1918), "Out Of The Shadow" (1919), "The Woman On The Index" (1919), "Paid In Full" (1919), "One Week Of Life" (1919), "The Fear Woman" (1919), "The Peace Of Roaring River" (1919), "Bonds Of Love" (1919), "The Loves Of Letty" (1919), "The Paliser Case" (1920), "The Woman In Room 13" (1920), "Madame X" (1920), "A Slave Of Vanity" (1920), "The Mistress Of Shenstone" (1921), "Roads Of Destiny" (1921), "Salvage" (1921), "The Sting Of The Lash" (1921), "The Lure Of Jade" (1921), "Two Kinds Of Woman" (1922), "The Woman Breed" (1922), "Let Not A Man Put Asunder" (1924), "Married Flirts" (1924), "Three Women" (1924), "Smouldering Fires" (1925), "The Nest" (1926), "Her Honor, The Governor" (1926), "Devil's Island" (1926), "Josselyn's Wife" (1926), "Mumsie" (1927), "On Trial" (1928), "Evidence" (1929), "The Sacred Flame" (1929), "Terra Melophon Magazin Nr. 1" (1930), "The Modern Age" (1931, as Joan Crawford's mother, 'Diane Winters'), "Wayward" (1932), "The Phantom Of Crestwood" (1932), "Self Defense" (1932), "Social Register" (1934), "My Marriage" (1936), and "Ramona" (1936). During this time she also returned to her first love the stage and appeared in the plays, "The Guilty One" (1923), "When The Bough Breaks" (1932), "Housewarming" (1932), and "Her Majesty The Widow" (1934). Her last film role was as 'Madame Chung' in the crime adventure, "Thank You, Mr. Moto" (1936). She enjoyed being in silent films but never liked appearing in talkies. Sadly, some of her films today are now known as 'lost films.' On January 17, 1936, she underwent emergency surgery on her abdomen and her health rapidly declined shortly thereafter. She was unable to work and she also had to deal with the death of her mother the following year. On September 16, 1938, she suffered a severe asthma attack and while she was recuperating at her aunt's house she suffered another one a few days later. She passed away in Beverly Hills, California, on September 19, 1938, at the age of 55, and according to her wishes, a private funeral was held in Hollywood, California, on September 23, 1938. She was cremated at Grand View Memorial Park in Glendale, California, and her ashes returned to the funeral directors, Reynolds & Vale on September 28, 1938, and her ashes are currently in an unknown location. She was married five times, first to architect Frank Mills Andrews from September 8, 1909, until they divorced in 1913, second to playwright and actor Willard Mack from September 27, 1917, until they divorced in August 1920, third to physician Dr. Charles A. Rutherford from February 4, 1922, until he filed for divorce in December of 1924, with it being finalized on January 6, 1925, fourth to the millionaire and Interstate News Company owner Hugh Chisholm Leighton from April 19, 1930, until the marriage was annulled in December of 1930, and fifth to the ailing United States Army Colonel and Commander of the 16th Infantry Regiment Joseph A. Marmon from January 21, 1934, until his death on December 4, 1934. Following his death, he was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, and it was thought that she would have been buried with him but this never happened. She also had a two-year affair with a young struggling actor named Clark Gable in 1926. Her personal life was also beset with marital and financial problems. Despite having reportedly made a million dollars for her work in silent films, she ended up filing for bankruptcy in 1933. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.