Gish, Lillian Diana, originally Lillian de Guiche 1893-1993
US actress

Born in Springfield, Ohio, she made her stage debut at the age of five, and acted in touring theatre companies with her sister, with whom she made a joint film debut in An Unseen Enemy (1912). A long association with D W Griffith brought her leading roles in Birth of a Nation (1915), Intolerance (1916) and Broken Blossoms (1919) and she created a gallery of waif-like heroines with indomitable spirits. Unsuited to talking pictures, she returned to the stage in 1930 where her many credits include The Trip to Bountiful (1953), Romeo and Juliet (1965) and Uncle Vanya (1973). She continued to play supporting roles in television and on film, including Duel in the Sun (1946) and The Night of the Hunter (1955), and returned to a major screen role in The Whales of August (1987). She directed one film, Remodelling Her Husband (1920), and wrote several volumes of autobiography. She received an honorary Academy Award in 1971.