06/12/1879
Allegheny City [now Pittsburgh], Pennsylvania, USA:
Lois Weber (1879 - 1939) was a true American auteur on par with D. W. Griffith. A director, actress, screenwriter, and producer of mostly silent films, she was the first American woman to direct a full-length feature film (1914's The Merchant of Venice), the first American woman director to own her own film studio, and one of the first film directors to experiment with sound. Weber pioneered the split-screen technique in the 1913 short film Suspense, and Hypocrites featured the first non-pornographic full-frontal female nude scene in 1915. Many of her films tackled social issues like abortion, poverty, discrimination, and religion, drawing the attention of censors. Only a fraction of her films, estimated to number between 200 and 400, were preserved. In 2022, the American Film Institute announced a new initiative titled "Behind the Veil," after one of Weber's lost films. The initiative "will document 6,000 short films from the silent and early sound eras to uncover the innovative contributions of female and BIPOC storytellers."
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Et la femme créa Hollywood (2016) as Self (archive footage) |
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Early Directors on Directing (2009) as Self |
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The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1917) as Mrs. Broome |
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Alone in the World (1917) as |
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Idle Wives (1916) as Anne |
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The Eye of God (1916) as Renie |
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Hop - The Devil's Brew (1916) as Lydia Jansen |
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Scandal (1915) as Daisy Dean |
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Sunshine Molly (1915) as Sunshine Molly |
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False Colors (1914) as Mrs. Moore |
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Lost by a Hair (1914) as Summer Girl |
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The Pursuit of Hate (1914) as Diana Grave |
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The Spider and Her Web (1914) as Madame DuBarr |
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The Merchant of Venice (1914) as Portia |
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The Jew's Christmas (1913) as Leah - Isaac's Daughter |
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How Men Propose (1913) as The Maid |
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Suspense. (1913) as The Wife |
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The Rosary (1913) as The Soldier's Sweetheart |
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The Picture of Dorian Gray (1913) as |
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A Japanese Idyll (1912) as |
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Eyes That See Not (1912) as The Millionaire's Wife |
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Fine Feathers (1912) as Mira, the Artist's Model |
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The Price (1911) as Ann |
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Lost Illusions (1911) as Grace - The Wife |
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Sherlock Holmes, Jr. (1911) as Mrs. Brown |
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Fate (1911) as Flora Brown |
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On the Brink (1911) as Tess |
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The Twins (1911) as The Twin Sisters |
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From Death to Life (1911) as Aratus' Wife |
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A Heroine of '76 (1911) as The Tavern Keeper's Daughter |
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White Heat (1934) Director |
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White Heat (1934) Writer |
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The Angel of Broadway (1927) Director |
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Topsy and Eva (1927) Adaptation |
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Topsy and Eva (1927) Screenplay |
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Sensation Seekers (1927) Director |
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Sensation Seekers (1927) Writer |
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The Marriage Clause (1926) Director |
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The Marriage Clause (1926) Writer |
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A Chapter in Her Life (1923) Director |
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A Chapter in Her Life (1923) Adaptation |
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A Chapter in Her Life (1923) Screenplay |
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What Do Men Want? (1921) Director |
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What Do Men Want? (1921) Writer |
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The Blot (1921) Director |
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The Blot (1921) Writer |
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The Blot (1921) Producer |
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Too Wise Wives (1921) Director |
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Too Wise Wives (1921) Story |
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Too Wise Wives (1921) Producer |
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Too Wise Wives (1921) Screenplay |
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What's Worth While? (1921) Writer |
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What's Worth While? (1921) Director |
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What's Worth While? (1921) Producer |
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To Please One Woman (1920) Director |
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To Please One Woman (1920) Writer |
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Forbidden (1919) Director |
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Forbidden (1919) Writer |
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Home (1919) Director |
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Home (1919) Writer |
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Mary Regan (1919) Director |
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Mary Regan (1919) Scenario Writer |
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Mary Regan (1919) Screenplay |
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A Midnight Romance (1919) Director |
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A Midnight Romance (1919) Writer |
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When a Girl Loves (1919) Director |
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When a Girl Loves (1919) Writer |
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Borrowed Clothes (1918) Director |
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Borrowed Clothes (1918) Writer |
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For Husbands Only (1918) Director |
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For Husbands Only (1918) Adaptation |
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For Husbands Only (1918) Producer |
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For Husbands Only (1918) Screenplay |
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The Doctor and the Woman (1918) Director |
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The Doctor and the Woman (1918) Writer |
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Tarzan of the Apes (1918) Writer |
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The Price of a Good Time (1917) Director |
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The Price of a Good Time (1917) Writer |
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The Price of a Good Time (1917) Editor |
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The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1917) Director |
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The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1917) Writer |
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The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1917) Producer |
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Even as You and I (1917) Director |
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The Mysterious Mrs. M (1917) Director |
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The Mysterious Mrs. M (1917) Writer |
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The People vs. John Doe (1916) Director |
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The People vs. John Doe (1916) Writer |
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The People vs. John Doe (1916) Producer |
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Wanted- A Home (1916) Story |
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Wanted- A Home (1916) Producer |
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Idle Wives (1916) Director |
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Idle Wives (1916) Writer |
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Idle Wives (1916) Producer |
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Idle Wives (1916) Adaptation |
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Saving the Family Name (1916) Director |
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Saving the Family Name (1916) Writer |
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Shoes (1916) Director |
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Shoes (1916) Writer |
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Shoes (1916) Producer |
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The Eye of God (1916) Scenario Writer |
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The Eye of God (1916) Director |
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The Eye of God (1916) Writer |
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Where Are My Children? (1916) Director |
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Where Are My Children? (1916) Producer |
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Where Are My Children? (1916) Writer |
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John Needham's Double (1916) Director |
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The Flirt (1916) Writer |
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The Flirt (1916) Director |
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Hop - The Devil's Brew (1916) Director |
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Hop - The Devil's Brew (1916) Scenario Writer |
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Hop - The Devil's Brew (1916) Screenplay |
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The Dumb Girl of Portici (1916) Director |
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The Dumb Girl of Portici (1916) Adaptation |
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The Dumb Girl of Portici (1916) Producer |
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Discontent (1916) Director |
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Discontent (1916) Writer |
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Jewel (1915) Writer |
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A Cigarette - That's All (1915) Director |
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Scandal (1915) Director |
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Scandal (1915) Writer |
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Betty in Search of a Thrill (1915) Director |
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Captain Courtesy (1915) Director |
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Sunshine Molly (1915) Director |
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Sunshine Molly (1915) Writer |
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Hypocrites (1915) Director |
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Hypocrites (1915) Writer |
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Hypocrites (1915) Producer |
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It's No Laughing Matter (1915) Director |
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It's No Laughing Matter (1915) Writer |
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False Colors (1914) Director |
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False Colors (1914) Screenplay |
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The Opened Shutters (1914) Scenario Writer |
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Lost by a Hair (1914) Director |
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Lost by a Hair (1914) Writer |
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The Pursuit of Hate (1914) Director |
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The Spider and Her Web (1914) Director |
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The Spider and Her Web (1914) Scenario Writer |
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The Merchant of Venice (1914) Director |
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The Merchant of Venice (1914) Writer |
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The Jew's Christmas (1913) Director |
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The Jew's Christmas (1913) Writer |
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How Men Propose (1913) Director |
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How Men Propose (1913) Producer |
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Suspense. (1913) Director |
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Suspense. (1913) Writer |
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The Rosary (1913) Director |
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The Picture of Dorian Gray (1913) Screenplay |
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A Japanese Idyll (1912) Director |
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The Troubadour's Triumph (1912) Director |
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The Troubadour's Triumph (1912) Writer |
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Eyes That See Not (1912) Director |
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Fine Feathers (1912) Director |
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The Price (1911) Director |
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The Price (1911) Writer |
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Fate (1911) Director |
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On the Brink (1911) Director |
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On the Brink (1911) Story |
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The Twins (1911) Director |
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The Twins (1911) Writer |
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From Death to Life (1911) Director |
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A Heroine of '76 (1911) Director |