* als Marion Cecilia Douras 3.1. 1897, Brooklyn, NY - † 22.9 1961, Hollywood, Cal. († Kanker)

Convent-educated, she made her stage debut in a Broadway chorus line at 16. She made several other stage appearances, modeled, was featured in the 'Ziegfeld Follies' of 1916 and made her screen debut the following year, in RUNAWAY ROMANY (1917). Around that time she met newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, who took an immediate personal interest in her career, vowing to make her Hollywood's greatest star. He formed a company, Cosmopolitan Pictures, for the sole purpose of producing her films, and mobilized the immense resources of the Hearst press to publicize her film appearances and praise them to the sky. From 1919 to 1923 the Cosmopolitan films were released by Paramount. Despite a good deal of publicity, they all lost money, largely because Hearst insisted on the most expensive production values for his protégée. He is said to have lost as much as seven million dollars on the Cosmopolitan film ventures over the years.

Miss Davies was certainly pretty and quite talented, especially in comedy roles. She might have made it to the top by herself and would probably have enjoyed a much more successful and sustained career had it not been for the aggressive campaign Hearst launched in her behalf, a campaign that infuriated exhibitors and alienated the public. Although she proved a capable mimic in gutsy comedy roles, Hearst insisted she keep playing fragile, innocent, virginal heroines. The Hearst patronage might have made her one of the most famous of the Hollywood stars, but it also made her one of the most unsuccessful at the box office.

In 1924, Cosmopolitan and Davies moved over to the Goldwyn Company, and when Goldwyn merged with Metro shortly after to form MGM, Cosmopolitan was part of the package. Louis B. Mayer, MGM's production chief, was quick to realize the potential value of associating with Hearst, both in terms of free publicity and social prestige. He offered to finance all of Cosmopolitan's films, pay Miss Davies $10,000 weekly, and give Hearst a share in the profits. A luxurious 14-room bungalow was set up for Miss Davies on the MGM lot, and as Hearst's Galatea and paramour, Miss Davies ranked high on the Hollywood social scale. She lavishly entertained society and royalty in her studio bungalow and in the several homes she shared with Hearst, including a Beverly Hills mansion, a palatial 110-room, 55-bath Santa Monica beach house, and their famous San Simeon castle-by-the-sea. The Hearst-Davies affair, caricaturized by Orson Welles in the controversial CITIZEN KANE (1941), was sincere and lasting. They would have married had Mrs. Hearst consented to a divorce. When the Hearst empire suffered a financial setback in the mid-30s, it was Miss Davies (who had by now accumulated a personal fortune) who saved the day by chipping in a million-dollar personal loan. Only after Hearst's death, in 1951, did she finally marry for the first time (to one Horace G. Brown).

Miss Davies' career had begun slipping seriously with the advent of sound. Because she tended to stutter, she was seen mostly in brief scenes and her roles required fewer and fewer dialogue lines. In 1934 Hearst broke off with MGM after several choice roles he had intended for his protégée went instead to Irving Thalberg's wife, Norma Shearer. The famous bungalow was moved to the Warners lot but did not stay there for long.

The 1937 financial troubles of the Hearst empire also marked the end of the film career of Marion Davies. She retired, renowned and wealthy, and spent the rest of her years as a successful business executive.

Filmografie
1917   Runaway, Romany  .... Romany  
1918   The Burden of Proof  .... Elaine Brooks
1918   Cecilia of the Pink Roses  .... Cecilia  
1919   The Belle of New York  .... Violet Gray 
1919   The Cinema Murder .... Elizabeth Dalston        
1919   The Dark Star  .... Rue Carew    
1919   Getting Mary Married  .... Mary
1920   April Folly  .... April Poole
1920   The Restless Sex  .... Stephanie Cleland        
1921   Bride's Play – 2  .... Enid of Cashel/Aileen Barrett       
1921   Enchantment  .... Ethel Hoyt     
1922   Beauty's Worth  .... Prudence Cole      
1922   When Knighthood Was in Flower  .... Mary Tudor   
1922   The Young Diana  .... Diana May 
1923   Adam and Eva (1923) .... Eva King
1923   Little Old New York  .... Patricia O'Day
1924   Janice Meredith  .... Janice Maredith    
1924   Yolanda  .... Princess Mary/Yolanda      
1925   Lights of Old Broadway  .... Fely/Anne        
1925   Zander the Great  .... Mamie Smith
1926   Beverly of Graustark  .... Beverly Calhoun    
1927   The Fair Co-Ed  .... Marion         
1927   The Patsy.... Patricia Harrington  
1927   Quality Street  .... Phoebe Throssel    
1927   The Red Mill  .... Tina      
1927   Tillie the Toiler  .... Tillie Jones
1928   The Cardboard Lover  .... Sally 
1928   Show People  .... Peggy Pepper/Herself 
1929   The Hollywood Revue of 1929
            ("TOMMY ATKINS ON PARADE")
1929   Marianne  (I) .... Marianne 'Blondy'
1929   Marianne (II) .... Marianne
1930   The Florodora Girl .... Daisy Dell        
1930   Not So Dumb  .... Dulcinea 'Dulcy' Parker
1931   The Bachelor Father  .... Antoinette 'Tony' Flagg     
1931   Five and Ten  .... Jennifer Rarick 
1931   It's a Wise Child  .... Joyce Stanton    
1932   Blondie of the Follies  .... Blondie McClune    producer,  
1932   Polly of the Circus  .... Polly Fisher    
1933   Going Hollywood.... Sylvia Bruce        
1933   Peg o' My Heart  .... Margaret 'Peg' O'Connell   
1934   Operator 13  .... Gail Loveless      

1935   Page Miss Glory.... Loretta Dalrymple, aka Miss Dawn Glory

1936   Cain and Mabel  .... Mabel O'Dare
1936   Hearts Divided  .... Elizabeth 'Betsy' Patterson
1937   Ever Since Eve   .... Miss Marjorie 'Marge' Winton, aka Sadie Day