From Wikipedia
Fern Andra (November 24, 1893[1] – February 8, 1974) was an
American actress, film director, script writer and producer. Next to Henny
Porten and Asta Nielsen she was one of the most popular and best-known
actresses in German silent films.
Born as Vernal Edna Andrews in Watseka, Illinois in 1893,
the daughter of a circus performer and an opera singer, Andra was already
appearing in public in a tightrope act by the age of four. She later trained in
song and dance. As early as 1899, in New York, she made her first film, a
version of Uncle Tom's Cabin.
She remained however with the circus, with which she
embarked on an extensive tour across the United States, Canada and Europe. In
Berlin she met Max Reinhardt, who gave her acting lessons. In 1913, aged 19,
she appeared in her first German film, Das Ave Maria. Still only moderately
well-known, she made her only Austrian film in 1915: Zwei Freunde. From 1916-18
she appeared almost exclusively on camera with Alfred Abel. In 1920 she starred
in Robert Wiene's expressionist horror film Genuine. In the mid-1920s she lost
her public appeal in Germany.
From 1928 she worked in the UK and the US, later expanding
her range to include radio and television.
Fern Andra died in Aiken, South Carolina, on February 8,
1974, aged 80.
