Jean Stuart (July 13, 1906 – November 13, 1926) was an American actress from

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

who had a brief career in

silent movies A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

. Her real name was Margaret Leisenring.

College student

She was a popular student at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

and was a member of the

Alpha Delta Pi Alpha Delta Pi (), commonly known as ADPi (pronounced "ay-dee-pye"), is an International Panhellenic sorority founded on May 15, 1851, at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. It is the oldest secret society for women. Alpha Delta Pi is a mem ...

sorority. She was an officer of the senior class. Her father, Dr. L.M. Leisenring, was a physician of the

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...

District who was superintendent of a

Vallejo, California Vallejo ( ; ) is a city in Solano County, California and the second largest city in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. Located on the shores of San Pablo Bay, the city had a population of 126,090 at the 2020 census. Vallejo is home to the ...

sanitarium.

Silent films

Stuart played in eight silent films, beginning with a role as ''Sonia Mercer'' in ''The Flash of an Emerald'' (1915). Later she appeared in ''The Scarlet Runner'' (1916), ''The Libertine'' (1916), ''Strife'' (1917), ''

The Rainbow ''The Rainbow'' is a novel by British author D. H. Lawrence, first published by Methuen & Co. in 1915. It follows three generations of the Brangwen family living in Nottinghamshire, focusing particularly on the individual's struggle to growth ...

'' (1917), '' The Accomplice'' (1917), ''God's Man'' (1917), and ''

Madame Sherry ''Madame Sherry'' is a 1917 American silent film, silent comedy film directed by Ralph Dean and starring Gertrude McCoy, Frank O'Connor (director), Frank O'Connor and Jean Stuart. It is based on the 1910 musical play of the same title.Goble p.849 ...

'' (1917). She was chosen the winner of college girl contest when she was a senior in college. A committee then chose her to play a role in ''The Campus Flirt'', which co-starred

Charles Paddock Charles William Paddock (August 11, 1900 – July 21, 1943) was an American athlete and two time Olympic champion. Biography Paddock was born in Gainesville, Texas to Charles H. and Lulu (Robinson) Paddock. His family moved to Pasadena, Cal ...

. Her selection came after it was suggested by actress

Bebe Daniels Phyllis Virginia "Bebe" Daniels (January 14, 1901 – March 16, 1971) was an American actress, singer, dancer, writer, and producer. She began her career in Hollywood during the silent film era as a child actress, became a star in musicals such ...

. Stuart played with Daniels in the film and left school to sign a contract with

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

Death

On a Sunday afternoon in November 1926, Stuart was riding horseback with some friends from the Studio Club, 1215 Lodi Place,

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

, where she resided. Her horse slipped on wet pavement and threw her on her head. Her injuries were not considered serious at first, but she developed a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

and died at 6 a.m. the following day at Hollywood Hospital. The Los Angeles Coroner's office decided that an inquest into her death was necessary. She was working on a series of collegiate films when she died. A newspaper account said "Death ended yesterday what promised to be a brilliant career in the silent drama."

References

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

, ''Horse Fall Takes Life of Actress'', November 24, 1926, Page A1. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart, Jean American silent film actresses Actresses from California 1906 births 1926 deaths 20th-century American actresses University of California, Berkeley alumni Accidental deaths in California