The WAMPAS Baby Stars was a promotional campaign sponsored by the United States Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers, which honored 13 (15 in 1932) young actresses each year whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. The campaign ran from 1922 to 1934, except for 1930 and 1933. Most failed to live up to their promotion. However, a small number of the selections went on to become major movie stars:

Clara Bow Clara Gordon Bow (; July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom during the silent film era of the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" in 1929. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the ...

(1924),

Janet Gaynor Janet Gaynor (born Laura Augusta Gainor; October 6, 1906 – September 14, 1984) was an American film, stage, and television actress. Gaynor began her career as an extra in shorts and silent films. After signing with Fox Film Corporation (later ...

(1926),

Fay Wray Vina Fay Wray (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian/American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film ''King Kong (1933 film), King Kong''. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray a ...

(1926), Dolores del Rio (1926),

Mary Astor Mary Astor (born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke; May 3, 1906 – September 25, 1987) was an American actress. Although her career spanned several decades, she may be best remembered for her performance as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in '' The Maltese ...

(1926),

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...

(1926),

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the fil ...

(1929),

Jean Arthur Jean Arthur (born Gladys Georgianna Greene; October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American Broadway and film actress whose career began in silent films in the early 1920s and lasted until the early 1950s. Arthur had feature roles in three F ...

(1929),

Joan Blondell Joan Blondell (born Rose Joan Bluestein; August 30, 1906 – December 25, 1979) was an American actress who performed in film and television for 50 years. Blondell began her career in vaudeville. After winning a beauty pageant, she embarked on ...

(1931) and

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

(1932). Gaynor, Astor, Crawford, Young and Rogers all were awarded the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Actress during their careers, with Gaynor receiving the first one during the first year of the award's existence. Clara Bow was a

Silent era 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, wh ...

star known as The It Girl. She was Hollywood's greatest female draw at her peak, but her career predated the Academy Awards. Arthur and Blondell had long and fruitful careers in Hollywood, the former as a lead actress, the latter usually in supporting roles after the

Pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

era. Others with significant Hollywood careers included

Evelyn Brent Evelyn Brent (born Mary Elizabeth Riggs; October 20, 1895 – June 4, 1975) was an American film and stage actress. Early life Brent was born in Tampa, Florida, and known as Betty. When she was age 10, her mother Eleanor (née. Warner) died, ...

(1923),

Joyce Compton Olivia Joyce Compton (January 27, 1907 – October 13, 1997) was an American actress. Biography Compton was born in Lexington, Kentucky, the daughter of Henry and Golden Compton. (Despite frequent reports to the contrary, her name was not ...

(1926),

Lupe Velez Lupe may refer to: People * Lupe Aquino (born 1963), Mexican boxer * Lupe Fiasco (born 1982), American hip hop artist * Lupe Ontiveros (1942–2012), Mexican-American film and television actress * Lupe Pintor (born 1955), Mexican boxer * Lupe V� ...

(1928),

Constance Cummings Constance Cummings CBE (May 15, 1910 – November 23, 2005) was an American-British actress with a career spanning over 50 years. Early life Cummings was born in Seattle, Washington, the only daughter and younger child of Kate Logan (née Cu ...

(1931, who decamped to England),

Frances Dee Frances Marion Dee (November 26, 1909 – March 6, 2004) was an American actress. Her first film was the musical ''Playboy of Paris'' (1930). She starred in the film ''An American Tragedy'' (1931). She is also known for starring in the 1943 Va ...

(1931), and

Gloria Stuart Gloria Frances Stuart (born Gloria Stewart; July 4, 1910 September 26, 2010) was an American actress, visual artist, and activist. She was known for her roles in Pre-Code films, and garnered renewed fame late in life for her portrayal of Rose ...

(1932, whose career revived in the 1990s and she received a nomination as Best Supporting Actress for her role in ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

'').

Overview

The WAMPAS Baby Stars campaign began in 1922. Every year, publicists chose a group of young actresses who were under contract at major studios that they felt were on the threshold of stardom. Awardees were honored at a party called the "WAMPAS Frolic" and were given extensive media coverage. The awards were not given in 1930 and 1933 due to objections from independent film studios. When the campaign was revived in 1934, freelance actresses, along with studio contract players, were included as the chosen "Baby Stars". The campaign was discarded in 1935, after which the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers disbanded. In 1956, a group of veteran stars, among them 1932 WAMPAS Baby Star

, chose a group of young actresses supposed to be known as The Wampas Baby Stars. However, since the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers no longer existed, the idea fizzled. The selection took place nevertheless, and 15 "babies" were chosen: Phyllis Applegate,

Roxanne Arlen Roxanne Arlen (January 10, 1931 – February 22, 1989) was an American film and stage actress and model active in the 1950s and 1960s. Filmography Feature films *'' The Loved One'' (1965) as Wispering Glades hostess *'' A House Is Not a Home'' ( ...

Jolene Brand Jolene Brand (born Jolene Marie Bufkin; July 31, 1934) is an American actress. She acted most in the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared in seven episodes of the Ernie Kovacs television shows. Career In 1958, she acted in the B-film '' Giant from the ...

, Donna Cooke, Barbara Huffman (later known as

Barbara Eden Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Morehead; August 23, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and producer best known for her starring role as Jeannie in the sitcom '' I Dream of Jeannie'' (1965-1970). Other notable roles include Roslyn Pierce opp ...

), Jewell Lain, Barbara Marx, Lita Milan, Norma Nilsson, Ina Poindexter, Violet Rensin,

Dawn Richard Dawn Angeliqué Richard (born August 5, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter. She started her career after auditioning for ''Making the Band 3'' in 2004. During this time, Richard became a member of girl band Danity Kane, from 2005 to 2009, a ...

, and Delfin Thursday. The last surviving original WAMPAS Baby Star,

Mary Carlisle Mary Carlisle (born Gwendolyn Witter; February 3, 1914 – August 1, 2018) was an American actress, singer, and dancer, best known for her roles as a wholesome ingénue in numerous 1930s Musical film, musical-comedy films. She starred in more ...

, died at the age of 104 on August 1, 2018.

List

1922

1923

1924

1925

1926

1927

1928

1929

1931

1932

1934

References

Works cited

* * * *

External links

The WAMPAS Baby Stars
{{Portal bar, Film, 1920s Baby stars (WAMPAS) 1922 introductions 1922 establishments in the United States 1934 disestablishments in the United States