24 Facts About Estelle Taylor

Ida Estelle Taylor was an American actress who was the second of world heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey's four wives.

Estelle Taylor became famous and was commended by reviewers for her portrayals of historical women in important films: Miriam in The Ten Commandments, Mary, Queen of Scots in Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall, and Lucrezia Borgia in Don Juan.

Estelle Taylor was active in animal welfare before her death from cancer in 1958.

Estelle Taylor was posthumously honored in 1960 with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the motion pictures category.

Ida Estelle Taylor was born on May 20,1894, in Wilmington, Delaware.

Estelle Taylor's mother, Ida LaBertha "Bertha" Barrett, was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, and later worked as a freelance makeup artist.

Estelle Taylor was raised by her maternal grandparents, Charles Christopher Barrett and Ida Lauber Barrett.

Estelle Taylor attended high school but dropped out because she refused to apologize after a troublesome classmate caused her to spill ink from her inkwell on the floor.

The couple remained together for five years until Estelle Taylor decided to become an actress.

Estelle Taylor soon found work as an artists' model, posing for Howard Pyle, Harvey Dunn, Leslie Thrasher, and other painters and illustrators.

Estelle Taylor worked as a hat model for a wholesale millinery store to earn money for her tuition and living expenses.

Samoiloff gave Estelle Taylor singing lessons on a contingent basis and, within several months, recommended her to theatrical manager Henry Wilson Savage for a part in the musical Lady Billy.

Estelle Taylor auditioned for Savage and he offered her work as an understudy to the actress who had the second role in the musical.

Estelle Taylor was hired by the Vitagraph Company for a role with Corinne Griffith in The Tower of Jewels, and played William Farnum's leading lady in The Adventurer for the Fox Film Corporation.

Estelle Taylor traveled with her mother, her canary bird, and her bull terrier, Winkle.

Estelle Taylor was excited about playing Mercedes and reread Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo on the train.

Estelle Taylor played Lucrezia Borgia in Don Juan, Warner Bros.

Estelle Taylor makes it sardonic in treatment, conveying precisely the woman Lucretia is presumed to have been.

Estelle Taylor was to have co-starred in a film with Rudolph Valentino, but he died just before production was to begin.

In 1953, Estelle Taylor was appointed to the Los Angeles City Animal Regulation Commission, which she served as vice president.

Estelle Taylor died of cancer at her home in Los Angeles on April 15,1958, at the age of 63.

Estelle Taylor was survived by her mother, Ida "Bertha" Barrett Boylan; her sister, Helen Taylor Clark; and a niece, Frances Iblings.

Estelle Taylor left an estate of more than $10,000, most of it to her family and $200 for the care and maintenance of her three dogs, which she left to her friend Ella Mae Abrams.

Estelle Taylor was known for her dark features and for the sensuality she brought to the films in which she appeared.