Australians in Hollywood : Biographical Notes

Louise Lovely
Louise Lovely (1895-1980) was born Louise Carbasse. Her mother, the actress Madame Carbasse-Alberti, had come to Australia with Sarah Bernhardt's Company in 1891, and had become a prominent member of Sydney 's French community. Louise worked as a child actress, playing adult roles by the time she was 15. At 16 she made her film debut in A Tale of the Australian Bush (1911), as the wife of Ben Hall. In 1914, aged 18, she sailed for Hollywood , and soon landed a contract with Universal Pictures. It was Carl Laemmle, Universal's founder and chief, who renamed her Louise Lovely. Her Hollywood debut came in Stronger than Death (1915), opposite fellow Australian Arthur Shirley. After co-starring with a young Lon Chaney in Dolly's Scoop (1916) and Tangled Hearts (1916), she moved to Fox Studios to play opposite William Farnum (then the world's highest-paid film actor) in the adventure yarns The Lone Star Ranger (1919), The Last of the Duanes (1919) and The Orphan (1920). On her return to Australia in 1923 she formed Louise Lovely Productions, and actively lobbied for government subsidy of the Australian industry. Her company made only one film, the unprofitable Jewelled Nights (1925), before her retirement to Hobart.

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