Pearl Fay White (March 4, 1889 – August 4, 1938) was an American stage and film actress. She began her career on the stage at age 6, and later moved on to silent films appearing in a number of popular serials.

Dubbed the "Queen of the Serials", White was noted for doing the majority of her own stunts, most notably in The Perils of Pauline. Often cast as a plucky onscreen heroine, White's roles directly contrasted those of the popularized archetypal ingénue.

Early life

White was born in Green Ridge, Missouri to Edgar White, a farmer, and Lizzie G. House. She had four brothers and sisters. The family later moved to Springfield, Missouri. At age 6, she made her stage debut as "Little Eva" in Uncle Tom's Cabin. When she was 13, White worked as a bareback rider for the circus.

Career

"The Perils of Pauline was not the first serial ever made, nor was it the best. It has the reputation of having been poorly directed, crudely edited and ungrammatically captioned. Still, it is far and away the most famous of all silent serials. The reason for this is its dynamic star."– Biographer Lon Davis in Silent Lives: 100 Biographies of the Silent Film Era. (2008).

She began performing with the Diemer Theater Company while in her second year of high school. Against the wishes of her father, White dropped out of school, and in 1907, she went on the road with the Trousedale Stock Company, working evening shows while keeping her day job to help support her family. She soon joined the company full-time, touring through the American Midwest.

White played minor roles for several years, when she was spotted by the Powers Film Company in New York. She claimed she had performed in Cuba for a time under the name Miss Mazee, singing American songs in a dance hall. Her travels as a singer also took her to South America.

In 1910, White had trouble with her throat, and her voice began to fail from the nightly theatrical performances. She made her debut in films that year, starring in a series of one-reel dramas and comedies for Pat Powers in the Bronx. It was at Powers Films that White honed her skills at physical comedy and stunt work. She became a popular player with the company and caught the attention of Pathé Frères.

In 1910, White was offered a role by Pathé Frères in The Girl from Arizona, the French company's first American film produced at their studio in Bound Brook, New Jersey. She then worked at Lubin Studios in 1911 and several other of the independent studios, until the Crystal Film Company in Manhattan gave her top billing in a number of slapstick comedy shorts from 1912 to 1914. White then took a vacation in Europe. Upon her return, she signed with Eclectic Film Company, a subsidiary of Pathé in 1914.

Pathé director Louis J. Gasnier offered her the starring role in film serial The Perils of Pauline, based on a story by playwright Charles W. Goddard. The film features the central character Pauline in a story involving considerable action, for which the athletic Pearl White proved ideally suited. The Perils of Pauline consisted of 20 two-reel episodes that were released weekly. The serial proved to be a hit with audiences and made White a major celebrity; she soon was earning $1,750 per week. She followed this serial with an even bigger box-office hit: The Exploits of Elaine (1914–1915).

Over the next five years, White appeared in the popular serials The New Exploits of Elaine (1915), The Romance of Elaine (1915), The Iron Claw (1916), Pearl of the Army (1916–1917), The Fatal Ring (1917), The House of Hate (1918), The Lightning Raider (1919) and The Black Secret (1919–1920). In these serials, White flew airplanes, raced cars, swam across rivers, and did other similar feats. She did much of her own stunt work until Pathé decided that it could not risk injuring one of its popular stars. (She had already injured her spine during the filming of The Perils of Pauline, an injury that caused her pain for the rest of her life.)

A male stunt double wearing a wig performed the majority of the more dangerous stunts in White's later films.The public was largely unaware that White and other actors used stunt doubles, but in August 1922, the truth was revealed. During the filming of White's final serial Plunder, John Stevenson, an actor who was doubling for White, was supposed to leap from the top of a bus on 72nd Street and Columbus Avenue onto an elevated girder. He missed the girder and struck his head. Stevenson died of a fractured skull. After the filming of Plunder was complete, White traveled to Europe for another vacation.

By 1919, White had grown tired of film serials and signed with Fox Film Corporation with the ambition to appear in dramatic roles. Over the next two years, White appeared in 10 drama films for Fox but her popularity had begun to wane.

Later years

At the Pathé movie studio, she met Blanche Rubenstein (later married Claude Auzello) and both travelled to France where White hoped to reboot her acting career. Influenced by her French friends from Pathé, White was drawn to the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris. While living there, she made her last film for her friend, Belgian-born director Edward José, who had directed her in several serials. Silent films could be made in any country, and as White was a recognizable star worldwide, she was offered many roles in France. She made Terreur (released as The Perils of Paris in the United States), her final film, in France in 1924. White returned to the stage in a Montmartre production Tu Perds la Boule. In 1925, she accepted an offer to star with comedian Max Wall in the "London Review" at the Lyceum Theatre in London, where she earned $3,000 per week. She then retired from performing.

By the time she retired from films in 1924, White had amassed a fortune of $2 million ($36 million in 2023). A shrewd businesswoman, she invested in a successful Parisian nightclub, a Biarritz resort hotel/casino, and a stable of 10 race horses. White divided her time between her townhouse in Passy and a 54-acre estate near Rambouillet.She became involved with Theodore Cossika, a Greek businessman, who shared her love of travel. Together, they purchased a home near Cairo.

According to published reports after her death, White's friends claimed that she intended to make a comeback in sound films. White later told friends that after she made a test for sound films in 1929, she was told that her voice was unsuitable. White made occasional visits to the United States in 1924, 1927, and 1937. On her last visit, White told reporters she was not interested in making a comeback and mused that acting in silent films was more difficult than acting in sound films. By this time, White had gained a substantial amount of weight. She told reporters she did not like to be photographed as she felt that photos made her face look fat, adding "Why should I have my picture taken when I can get paid for it?"

1910

His Yankee Girl (Short)

The Missing Bridegroom (Short) as Clarice Moulton

The Horse Shoer's Girl (Short)

The Burlesque Queen (Short)

The Matinee Idol (Short) as Helen Durand

The Music Teacher (Short) as Louise Faber

A Woman's Wit (Short) as Grace Brown

The Sheriff and Miss Jones (Short) as Mary Noyes

The New Magdalene (Short) as Mercy Merrick

The Woman Hater (Short)

When the World Sleeps (Short) as Mrs. Madison

1911

Monte Cristo (Short) as Mercedes

An Unforeseen Complication (Short) as The Professor's Daughter

Home Sweet Home (Short) as Mary Lanon

Helping Him Out (Short) as Pearl

The Angel of the Slums (Short) as The Angel of the Slums

The Heart of an Indian Maid (Short) as Indian Maid

The Society Girl and the Gypsy (Short) as Grace

The Stepsisters (Short) as The Stepmother's Spoiled Daughter

His Birthday (Short) as Mrs. Grey - the Wife

Memories of the Past (Short)

The Flaming Arrows (Short)

The Message of the Arrow (Short)

Through the Window (Short)

A Prisoner of the Mohicans (Short)

The Squaw's Mistaken Love (Short) as Pearl

For Massa's Sake (Short)

Love Molds Labor (Short) as Margaret Fuller - the Foreman's Sweetheart

The Terms of the Will (Short)

The Power of Love (Short) as Margaret Fuller - the Foreman's Sweetheart

Love's Renunciation (Short)

Western Postemistress (Short) as The Western Postmistress

The Reporter (Short) as Alice Wayne

The Lost Necklace (Short) as The Sleepwalking Heroine

The Fatal Portrait (Short) as Madeleine

The Doll (Short) as The Wife

1912

The Life of Buffalo Bill (Short)

For the Honor of the Name (Short)

The Arrowmaker's Daughter (Short) as The Arrowmaker's Daughter

The Hand of Destiny (Short) as Señora Martinez - the Wife

The Man from the North Pole (Short)

The Girl in the Next Room (Short) as Alice Brady

Naughty Marietta (Short) as Marietta

McGuirk, the Sleuth (Short) as Byrdie May

Her Dressmaker's Bills (Short) as Mrs. Owing

The Only Woman in Town (Short) as The Widow Chase

Bella's Beaus (Short) as Bella

The Blonde Lady (Short) as Mabel

A Pair of Fools (Short) as Pearl

Oh, Such a Night! (Short) as Pearl

The Gypsy Flirt (Short) as Mabel

The Chorus Girl (Short) as The Wife aka The Chorus Girl

Her Old Love (Short) as Irene

The Valet and the Maid (Short) as The Maid

The Quarrel (Short) as Mrs. Lovey

Locked Out (Short) as Mrs. Happy

The Spendthrift's Reform (Short) as Mrs. Dan Steele

A Tangled Marriage (Short) as Pearl

The Mind Cure (Short) as Pearl

Oh! That Lemonade (Short) as The Widow

His Wife's Stratagem (Short) as Pearl

Her Visitor (Short) as Pearl Burnham

The Mad Lover (Short) as Ethel Marion

1913

Her Kid Sister (Short) as Pearl

Heroic Harold (Short) as Pearl

A Night at the Club (Short) as Mrs. Boredman

The Fake Gas-Man (Short) as Bridget the Maid

A Dip Into Society (Short) as Maggie the Maid

The False Alarm (Short) as Minor Role

Pearl's Admirers (Short) as Pearl

With Her Rival's Help (Short) as Nellie

Box and Cox (Short) as Tillie - the Housemaid

Her Lady Friend (Short) as Miss Alden

Accident Insurance (Short) as Pearl

Strictly Business (Short) as Pearl

An Awful Scene (Short)

That Other Girl (Short) as Pearl

Schultz's Lottery Ticket (Short) as Mrs. Schultz

An Innocent Bridegroom (Short) as The Widow Keene

A Night in the Town (Short) as Nellie Thomas - the Housemaid

Ma and the Boys (Short) as Violet

Knights and Ladies (Short) as Pearl

Who Is the Goat? (Short) as Pearl Sweet

Calicowani (Short) as Mrs. Blake

Lovers Three (Short) as Pearl

His Twin Brother (Short) as Dolly

The Drummer's Note Book (Short) as Pearl

Pearl as a Clairvoyant (Short) as Pearl

The Veiled Lady (Short) as Pearl

Our Parents-In-Law (Short) as Carrie

Two Lunatics (Short) as Pearl

His Romantic Wife (Short) as Mrs. Cool

Forgetful Flossie (Short) as Forgetful Flossie

A Joke on the Sheriff (Short) as The Widow Floss

When Love Is Young (Short) as Pearl

Pearl as a Detective (Short) as Pearl

Oh, Whiskers! (Short) as Miss Hegg

His Awful Daughter (Short) as Nellie

Our Willie (Short) as Willie's Ma

Homlock Shermes (Short) as Pearl - the Girl Detective

Toodelums (Short) as Pearl

A Supper for Three (Short)

Where Charity Begins (Short) as Helen Morris

Hooked (Short) as Mrs. Short

Clancy, the Model (Short)

Mary's Romance (Short) as Mary

The New Typist (Short) as Pearl - the Office Stenographer

False Love and True (Short) as Grace Roberts

Her Joke on Belmont (Short) as The Doctor's Sister

A Call from Home (Short)

Will Power (Short) as Pearl

The Smuggled Laces (Short)

Out of the Past (Short) as Rose Vale - the Country Girl

Who Is in the Box? (Short) as Pearl

An Hour of Terror (Short) as Mrs. Brown

The Girl Reporter (Short) as Pearl White - the Girl Reporter

Muchly Engaged (Short)

True Rivalry (Short) as Georgia Allison

Pearl's Dilemma (Short) as Pearl Howell, a Young Matron

The Hall-Room Girls (Short) as Pearl

The Broken Spell (Short) as Valerie Monroe

College Chums (Short) as Pearl

The Paper Doll (Short) as Alice Wilson

What Papa Got (Short) as Pearl

A Child's Influence (Short)

Starving for Love (Short) as Mabel

Oh! You Scotch Lassie (Short) as Pearl

How Women Love (Short) as Alice Howard

Pearl and the Tramp (Short) as Pearl

The Great Influence (Short) as Norah

Caught in the Act (Short) as Mrs. Brown

That Crying Baby (Short)

His Aunt Emma (Short) as Pearl

Much Ado About Nothing (Short) as Pearl

Lost in the Night (Short) as Pearl Barry

Some Luck (Short)

Pleasing Her Husband (Short) as Pearl Greene

The Hand of Providence (Short) as Pearl

A News Item (Short) as Pearl

Misplaced Love (Short) as Rose

Pearl and the Poet (Short) as Pearl

The Last Gamble (Short) as Pearl Letterell

The Dress Reform (Short) as Pearl - the Wife

The Woman and the Law (Short) as Pearl

Pearl's Mistake (Short) as Pearl

Hearts Entangled (Short)

Willie's Great Scheme (Short) as Pearl

Robert's Lesson (Short) as Pearl

The Rich Uncle (Short) as Pearl

A Hidden Love (Short) as Alice

Girls Will Be Boys (Short) as Pearl

When Duty Calls (Short) as Grace

Daisy Wins (Short)

Oh! You Pearl (Short) as Pearl

Out of the Grave (Short)

Her Secretaries (Short) as Pearl

The Cabaret Singer (Short) as Madge

Hubby's New Coat (Short) as Mrs. Joyful

The Convict's Daughter (Short) as Pearl Bentley - the Convict's Daughter

A Woman' Revenge (Short)

Pearl's Hero (Short) as Pearl

First Love (Short)

The Soubrette (Short) as The Soubrette

The Heart of an Artist (Short) as Aline Morey

The Lure of the Stage (Short) as Lola - the Actress

The Kitchen Mechanic (Short) as Sal

Through Fire and Air

1914

The Lifted Veil (Short)

Shadowed (Short) as The Suspicious Wife

The Ring (Short) as Mrs. Gray

It May Come to This (Short) as Wifey

A Father's Devotion (Short)

Jones' Burglar Trap (Short) as Mrs. Jones

The Shadow of a Crime (Short) as Edith Winslow

Oh! You Puppy (Short) as Pearl

A Grateful Outcast (Short) as Pearl

What Didn't Happen to Mary? (Short) as Mary

For a Woman (Short) as Nellie

Getting Reuben Back (Short) as Annie

A Sure Cure (Short)

McSweeney's Masterpiece (Short) as Cleopatra

Lizzie and the Iceman (Short) as Lizzie

The Fat and Thin of It (Short) as Pearl - the Professor's Assistant

The Perils of Pauline (Serial)

Going Some (Short) as Pearl

The Lady Doctor (Short)

Get Out and Get Under (Short) as Pearl

A Telephone Engagement (Short) as Pearl White

The Mashers (Short)

The Dancing Craze (Short) as The Tango Instructor

Easy Money (Short) as Lizzie

The Girl in Pants (Short) as Vivian's Mother

Her New Hat (Short) as Pearl

What Pearl's Pearls Did (Short) as Pearl

Willie's Disguise (Short) as Pearl - the Schoolteacher

Was He a Hero? (Short)

East Lynne in Bugville (Short)

Liferitis (Short)

Some Collectors (Short)

Oh! You Mummy (Short) as The Mummy

The Exploits of Elaine (Serial) as Elaine Dodge

1915

Oh! You City Girl (Short)

A Lady in Distress (Short)

Sapho Up-to-Date (Short)

The New Exploits of Elaine as Elaine Dodge

The Romance of Elaine as Elaine Dodge

1916

The King's Game as Catherine Dardinilis

Hazel Kirke as Hazel Kirke

The Iron Claw (Serial) as Margery Golden

Pearl of the Army as Pearl Date

1917

Mayblossom as Anabel Lee

The Fatal Ring as Violet Standish

1918

The House of Hate as Pearl Grant (Waldon) / Jenny Acton

1919

The Lightning Raider (Serial) as The Lightning Raider

The Black Secret (Serial) as Evelyn Ereth

1920

The White Moll as Rhoda, The White Moll

The Tiger's Cub as Tiger's Cub

The Thief (Short) as Mary Vantyne

1921

The Mountain Woman as Alexander McGiverns

Know Your Men as Ellen Schuyler

Beyond Price as Sally Marrio

Annabel's Romance

A Virgin Paradise as Gratia Latham

1922

Any Wife as Myrtle (Mrs. John Hill)

The Broadway Peacock as Myrtle May

Without Fear as Ruth Hamilton

1923

Plunder (Serial) as Pearl Travers

1924

Terror as Hélène Lorfeuil (final film role)