Acting · Springfield, Ohio, USA · Born October 14, 1893
Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893 – February 27, 1993) was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987. She was a prominent film star of the 1910s and 1920s, particularly associated with the films of director D.W. Griffith, including her leading role in Griffith's seminal Birth of a Nation (1915). Her sound-era film appearances were sporadic, but included memorable roles in the controversial western Duel in the Sun (1946) and the offbeat thriller Night of the Hunter (1955). She did considerable television work from the early 1950s into the 1980s, and closed her career playing, for the first time, opposite Bette Davis in the 1987 film The Whales of August. The American Film Institute (AFI) named Gish 17th among the greatest female stars of all time. She was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 1971, and in 1984 she received an AFI Life Achievement Award.
MovieThe Flapper
2021
as (archive footage)
MovieI Am Not a Racist
2019
as Elsie (archive footage) (uncredited)
MovieThe Women Who Run Hollywood
2016
as Self (archive footage)
MovieNight Hunter
2011
MovieSigrid Holmquist
2010
as Sigrid Holmquist (archive footage)
MovieEarly Directors on Directing
2009
as Self
MovieMary Pickford: The Muse of the Movies
2008
as Self (archive footage)
MovieD.W. Griffith - Years of Discovery 1909-1913
2002
MovieStar Power: The Creation Of United Artists
1998
as Lucy - The Girl (archive footage)
MovieThe First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
1995
as Self (archive footage)
MovieMoving Pictures: 'The Night of the Hunter'
1995
as Self
MovieThe Making of 'The Birth of a Nation'
1993
as Self (Archive footage)
MovieLillian Gish: The Actor's Life for Me
1988
as Herself, Archive footage
MovieThe Whales of August
1987
as Sarah Webber
MovieHappy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
1987
as Self
MovieSweet Liberty
1986
as Cecelia Burgess
MovieThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
1986
as Mrs Loftus
MovieGreta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown
1986
as Self (archive footage)
MovieNight of 100 Stars II
1985
as Self
MovieLillian Gish
1984
as Self
MovieHobson's Choice
1983
as Miss Molly Winkle
MovieHambone and Hillie
1983
as Hillie Radcliffe
MovieNight of 100 Stars
1982
as Self
MovieThin Ice
1981
as Grandmother
TVHollywood
1980
as Self
TVThe Kennedy Center Honors
1978
as Self
MovieA Wedding
1978
as Nettie Sloan
Sparrow
1978
as Widow
TVThe Love Boat
1977
as Mrs. Williams
MovieTwin Detectives
1976
as Billy Jo Haskins
MovieBlack Shadows on a Silver Screen
1975
as Self (archive footage)
MovieLetter to Jane: An Investigation About a Still
1974
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
TVThe American Film Institute Salute to ...
1973
as Self
Film '72
1971
as Self
MovieLanglois
1970
as Self
MovieArsenic and Old Lace
1969
as Martha Brewster
TVThe Dick Cavett Show
1968
as Self - Guest
MovieThe Comedians
1967
as Mrs. Smith
MovieThe Comedians in Africa
1967
as Self (uncredited)
MovieWarning Shot
1967
as Alice Willows
MovieLionpower from MGM
1967
as Self - Mrs. Smith (archive footage) (uncredited)
MovieFollow Me, Boys!
1966
as Hetty Seibert
MovieMrs. Winchester's House
1963
as Narrator
TVMr. Novak
1963
as Maude Phipps
MovieThe Great Chase
1962
TVThe Alfred Hitchcock Hour
1962
as Bessie Carnby
MovieThe Spiral Staircase
1961
as Mrs. Warren
TVThe Defenders
1961
as Louisa Clarendon
MovieThe Legend of Rudolph Valentino
1961
as Self (archive footage)
MovieThe Unforgiven
1960
as Mattilda Zachary
MovieOrders to Kill
1958
as Mrs. Summers
TVTony Awards
1956
as Self - Award Accepter
TVThe Alcoa Hour
1955
as Esther Crampton
Playwrights '56
1955
Film Fun
1955
as (archive footage)
MovieThe Night of the Hunter
1955
as Rachel Cooper
MovieThe Cobweb
1955
as Victoria Inch
The Trip to Bountiful
1953
as Carrie Watts
TVSchlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
as Grandma Moses
TVRobert Montgomery Presents
1950
MoviePortrait of Jennie
1948
as Mother Mary of Mercy
TVThe Philco Television Playhouse
1948
as Abby
TVThe Ed Sullivan Show
1948
as Self
MovieDuel in the Sun
1946
as Laura Belle McCanles
MovieMiss Susie Slagle's
1946
as Miss Susie Slagle
MovieTop Man
1943
as Beth Warren
MovieCommandos Strike at Dawn
1942
as Mrs. Bergesen
MovieHis Double Life
1933
as Alice Chalice
MovieThe Movie Album
1932
as (archive footage)
MovieOne Romantic Night
1930
as Princess Alexandra
MovieThe Wind
1928
as Letty
MovieThe Enemy
1927
as Pauli Arndt
MovieAnnie Laurie
1927
as Annie Laurie
MovieThe Scarlet Letter
1927
as Hester Prynne
MovieLa Bohème
1926
as Mimi
MovieBen-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
1925
as Chariot Race Spectator (uncredited)
MovieRomola
1924
as Romola
MovieThe White Sister
1923
as Angela Chiaromonte
MovieFrom Farm to Fame
1922
as Lillian Gish
MovieOrphans of the Storm
1921
as Henriette Girard
MovieScreen Snapshots (Series 1, No. 20)
1921
as Herself
MovieWay Down East
1920
as Anna Moore
MovieThe Greatest Question
1919
as Nellie Jarvis
MovieTrue Heart Susie
1919
as Susie May Trueheart
MovieBroken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl
1919
as Lucy Burrows
MovieA Romance of Happy Valley
1919
as Jennie Timberlake
MovieThe Greatest Thing in Life
1918
as Jeannette Peret
MovieLillian Gish in a Liberty Loan Appeal
1918
MovieThe Great Love
1918
as Susie Broadplains
MovieHearts of the World
1918
as The Girl - Marie Stephenson
MovieSouls Triumphant
1917
as Lillian Vale
The House Built Upon Sand
1916
as Evelyn Dare
MovieThe Children Pay
1916
as Millicent
Diane of the Follies
1916
as Diane
MovieIntolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
1916
as The Woman Who Rocks the Cradle
MovieAn Innocent Magdalene
1916
as Dorothy Raleigh
MovieSold for Marriage
1916
as Marfa
MovieDaphne and the Pirate
1916
as Daphne La Tour
Pathways of Life
1916
MovieThe Lily and the Rose
1915
as Mary Randolph
Captain Macklin
1915
as Beatrice
MovieEnoch Arden
1915
as Annie Lee
MovieThe Lost House
1915
as Dosia Dale
MovieThe Birth of a Nation
1915
as Stoneman's Daughter Elsie
His Lesson
1915
as Participant in Mob Scene (uncredited)
MovieThe Sisters
1914
as May
The Folly of Anne
1914
as Anne
MovieThe Tear That Burned
1914
as Anita - the Truant
Man's Enemy
1914
as Grace Lisle
MovieThe Angel of Contention
1914
as Nettie - the Angel
MovieThe Rebellion of Kitty Belle
1914
as Kitty Belle
Lord Chumley
1914
as Eleanor Butterworth
MovieHome, Sweet Home
1914
as Payne's Sweetheart
The Quicksands
1914
The Hunchback
1914
as The Orphan - as an Adult
MovieThe Battle of the Sexes
1914
as Jane Andrews, the daughter
MovieJudith of Bethulia
1914
as The Young Mother
The Green-Eyed Devil
1914
as Mary Miller
A Duel for Love
1914
The Conscience of Hassan Bey
1913
as The Rugmaker's Daughter
MovieThe Battle at Elderbush Gulch
1913
as Melissa Harlow
The Blue or the Gray
1913
Madonna of the Storm
1913
as The Mother
So Runs the Way
1913
as Fred's Wife
A Modest Hero
1913
as The Wife
MovieA Woman in the Ultimate
1913
as Verda
MovieAn Indian's Loyalty
1913
as The Ranchero's Daughter
During the Round-Up
1913
as The Ranchero's Daughter
MovieThe Mothering Heart
1913
as The Wife
MovieA Timely Interception
1913
as The Farmer's Daughter
Just Gold
1913
as The First Brother's Sweetheart
MovieThe House of Darkness
1913
as The Nurse
MovieThe Lady and the Mouse
1913
as The First Sister
The Left-Handed Man
1913
as The Old Soldier's Daughter
A Misunderstood Boy
1913
as The Daughter
MovieThe Little Tease
1913
as Girl in bandana
The Stolen Bride
1913
MovieThe Unwelcome Guest
1913
as At Auction (uncredited)
MovieOil and Water
1913
as In First Audience (uncredited)
MovieA Cry for Help
1912
as The Maid
MovieThe Burglar’s Dilemma
1912
as Birthday Wellwisher
MovieThe New York Hat
1912
as Customer in Shop / Outside Church
MovieBrutality
1912
as At Theatre
MovieThe Informer
1912
as Walk on role
MovieMy Baby
1912
MovieGold and Glitter
1912
as The Young Woman
MovieThe Musketeers of Pig Alley
1912
as The Little Lady
MovieThe Painted Lady
1912
as Belle at Ice Cream Festival
The One She Loved
1912
MovieIn the Aisles of the Wild
1912
as The Younger Daughter
MovieSo Near, Yet So Far
1912
as A Friend
MovieTwo Daughters of Eve
1912
as In Theatre Crowd
MovieAn Unseen Enemy
1912
as Eldest Sister
