Born in Philadelphia, Boardman was originally on stage; but after temporarily losing her voice in 1922, she entered silent films.[citation needed] There followed months of fruitless effort until one day Rupert Hughes saw her riding a horse and gave her a part in a film, and she quickly began to attract audiences. She was chosen by Goldwyn Pictures as their "New Face of 1922," through which she signed a contract with the company. After several successful supporting roles, she played the lead in Souls for Sale in 1923. That same year, Boardman\'s growing popularity was reflected by her inclusion on the list of WAMPAS Baby Stars.\n', 'She appeared in more than 30 films during her career, achieving her greatest success in director King Vidor\'s The Crowd (1928). Her performance in that film is widely recognized as one of the outstanding performances in American silent films. In 1932, after some success in sound films, she parted ways with MGM. Her final film was The Three Cornered Hat, which was made in Spain in 1935. After that production, she retired from acting and retreated from Hollywood. Her only subsequent appearance was in an interview filmed for Kevin Brownlow and David Gill\'s British documentary series Hollywood (1980).\n', 'Boardman was married to the film director King Vidor, with whom she had two daughters, Antonia (1927-2012) and Belinda (born 1930). Their marriage lasted from 1926 until 1931. Fellow actors John Gilbert and Greta Garbo had planned a double wedding with them, but Garbo broke the plans at the last minute.\n', '

Return to Eleanor Boardman Autograph Profile