Actress. A popular leading lady during the silent screen era, her popularity declined with the advent of sound motion pictures. Born Margaret Derden Philpott, she made her stage debut dancing in a local production of "Aida" when she was nine years old. At age 17, she travelled to New York City to pursue a dancing career and after appearing in the chorus of "The Love Mill" (1917), she decided to try acting. In 1918, she appeared in a touring production of "Polyanna" for which she received good reviews. Her big break came 1919 when she replaced Helen Hayes in the Broadway production of "Dear Brutus". In 1920, she signed a contract with the newly formed Triangle Film Corporation (TFC) and her first film with them was "The Cup of Life" (1921). The following year, her breakout role came as the title character in the film adaptation of the 1869 novel "Lorna Doone" and she became known as "the exquisite Madge" and was cast in several melodramas. When her contract with TFC ended in 1924, she signed with Fox Film Corporation and appeared in two John Ford films, "The Iron Horse" and "Lightnin". By 1925 she began encountering difficulties due to several "artistic differences" she had with studio executives. In 1928 she appeared in Fox's first part-talking film "Mother Knows Best". Her final silent film, "Fugitives", was released in 1929 and her first full length, all talking feature "Tonight at Twelve", was released later that year. By the time of its release, her career had plunged due to several ill-advised choices she made in fits of anger. From 1932 until 1945 she appeared in 12 films, most notably "White Zombie" (1932), "Gordon of Ghost City (1933), "Charlie Chan in London" (1934), and "The Great Hotel Murder" (1935), with her final film appearance in "Northwest Trail" (1945). She then remained out of public view until the 1980s when she was rediscovered by silent film fans and film historians who requested interviews. She died of heart failure at the age of 90. Her autobiography. "A Darling of the Twenties" was published in 1990.