Occupation Actress Years active 1930-56 | Name Katherine DeMille Role Film actress | |
 | ||
Full Name Katherine Paula Lester Born June 29, 1911 ( 1911-06-29 ) Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Parents Cecil B. DeMille, Constance Adams DeMille Children Valentina Quinn, Duncan Quinn, Christina Quinn, Catalina Quinn, Christopher Quinn Movies The Crusades, Unconquered, The Call of the Wild, Charlie Chan at the Olympics, Black Gold Similar People Cecil B DeMille, Anthony Quinn, Jolanda Addolori, Constance Adams DeMille, William C deMille | ||
Katherine DeMille (born Katherine Paula Lester; June 29, 1911 – April 27, 1995) was a Canadian-born American film actress.
Contents
Early years
DeMille was born Katherine Paula Lester in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She was orphaned as a child by the death of her father, an officer in the Canadian Army who died in World War I combat in the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the loss of her mother to tuberculosis in 1920. When she was nine years old, she was found in an orphanage and legally adopted by film director Cecil B. DeMille and his wife Constance when she was 11.
Acting
DeMille gained experience on stage in 1930 "by acting as understudy for the feminine 'heavy' of the play Rebound" in San Francisco. DeMille first appeared on screen as an uncredited "Zeppelin Reveler" in Madame Satan (1930), and made thirty film appearances until retiring in 1956.
Personal life
DeMille married actor Anthony Quinn on October 3, 1937. They had five children: Christopher (1939-1941), Christina (born December 1, 1941), Catalina (born November 21, 1942), Duncan (born August 4, 1945), and Valentina (born December 26, 1952). Their first child, Christopher, was found drowned in the lily pond of W.C. Fields at age two.
DeMille accepted the 1953 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on behalf of her husband, who was not present at the ceremony. They divorced in 1965 due to his extramarital relationships. A December 8, 1964, newspaper article says that Quinn sued DeMille for divorce in Juarez, Mexico, and "listed incompatibility in the suit as grounds for divorce."
Death
Katherine DeMille died of Alzheimer's disease in Tucson, Arizona in 1995, at age 83. The disposition of her remains is unknown.