Sara Sothern (born Sara Viola Warmbrodt; August 21, 1895 – September 11, 1994) was an American stage

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and the mother of actress

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

Life and career

Sothern was born Sara Viola Warmbrodt in

Arkansas City, Kansas Arkansas City () is a city in Cowley County, Kansas, United States, situated at the confluence of the Arkansas River and Walnut River in the southwestern part of the county. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 11,974. The ...

, the daughter of Elizabeth Ann (née Wilson; February 10, 1864 – February 7, 1932) and Samuel Sylvester Warmbrodt (October 8, 1861 – January 6, 1948), son of Samuel Warmbrodt, from

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Her film debut was on ''One of the Flames'' (1914) which was filmed at the

Miller Brothers 101 Ranch The Miller Brothers 101 Ranch was a cattle ranch in the Indian Territory of Oklahoma before statehood. Located near modern-day Ponca City, Oklahoma, Ponca City, it was founded by Colonel George Washington Miller, a veteran of the Confederate Army ...

. Sothern was a seasoned actress by the time she made her

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

debut in ''The Dagger'' (1925), followed by ''Arabesque'' and ''Fool's Bells'' that same year. She next appeared in ''Mama Loves Papa'' (1926). During this time, she acted in plays across the U.S., including the theatre venues of

downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is a ...

. She married art dealer Francis Lenn Taylor in 1926 in New York City. They were the parents of Howard Taylor (27 June 1929 – 31 August 2020), and the movie star

(19322011). After marrying, Sothern retired from the stage and never acted again. After living in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

several years, where her children were born, they returned to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Living in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, California, she devoted herself to her family and the movie career of her daughter. Sothern died on September 11, 1994, less than a month after her 99th birthday in

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...

, California. She is interred in

Westwood Village Memorial Park Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary is a cemetery and mortuary located in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood, with an entrance from Glendon Avenue. The cemetery was ...

, Los Angeles.''Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries''
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sothern, Sara 1895 births 1994 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Kansas American expatriates in the United Kingdom American people of Swiss descent American stage actresses Elizabeth Taylor People from Arkansas City, Kansas Actresses from Los Angeles Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery