The actress Ivy Close was famous not as an actress in the first place, but as Miss Britain.
When the Daily Mirror launched the competition for The Most Beautiful Woman in the World in 1908, her father sent in photographs of Ivy. She was chosen and won the first prize.
After that she appeared on some British stages before she was spotted for the film in 1912 where she became one of the first British movie stars.
See her in the Close Ancestry trees
See her in the Close Ancestry galleries
She made her film debut in 1912 with Dream Paintings, and after that followed a number of movies:
The Lure of London (1914)
The Girl from the Sky (1914)
The Ware Case (1917)
The Adventures of Dick Dolan (1917)
Nelson (1918)
The Flag Lieutenant (1919)
The Worldlings (1920)
La roue (1923)
and the German productions:
Der fidele Bauer (1927)
Die Hölle der Jungfrauen (1928)
With Ivy Close also began a film dynasty which comprise four generations. Her son Derek Neame was a scriptwriter, her son Ronald Neame became a celebrated cinematographer and director. Her grandson Christopher Neame and her great-grandson Gareth Neame both became producers.
And now for a bit of housekeeping
See the wood and the trees
We publish everything we have in our fabulous trees, so basically if you can’t find it, we don’t have it. With over 20,000 people, 5,000 families, 12,000 sources, and 69,000 image references currently sat in our database, you’ll appreciate the amount of work that has gone into this over the years.
You can see more in the Close Ancestry Trees.
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