Born 1890 in Kansas City, Missouri, American actress Jeanne Eagels began performing in traveling shows and stock companies before breaking into Broadway. Her big break came in 1922 with Rain, an adaptation of a W. Somerset Maugham short story, in which she played a prostitute with raw emotional power and realism that shocked and mesmerized audiences. Her work in Rain defined her career and set a high standard for stage acting of the era.
Eagels also transitioned to film during the silent era and made a few notable talkies. Her most remembered film is The Letter (1929), for which she received a posthumous Academy Award nomination for Best Actress—making her the first performer to be nominated after death.
Eagels was known for her intense performances on stage and screen, as well as for her tumultuous personal life. A complex and talented figure of early 20th-century entertainment, she became one of Broadway’s most compelling dramatic actresses during the 1920s, earning lasting recognition for her portrayal of Sadie Thompson in the play Rain.
Her personal life, however, was marked by instability, including struggles with substance abuse, legal troubles, and health issues. She was suspended by Actors’ Equity for unprofessional behavior, and her addictions ultimately contributed to her early death at the age of 39 in 1929, reportedly from a heroin overdose, though the exact cause remains disputed.
Take a look at these fabulous photos to see portraits of Jeanne Eagels in the 1910s and 1920s.
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