About Ethel Grandin
Lived 1894 – 1988 (aged 94). Ethel Grandin was an American actor, stage actor, film actor and silent film.
Ethel Grace Grandin Smallwood (March 3, 1894 – September 27, 1988) was an American silent film actress in the 1910s and 1920s.
Early life Grandin was born in New York City, the daughter of Edward Siebree Grandin and Julia G. Parker Grandin. She started as a child actress for Chauncey Olcott's touring company. She appeared on stage with Joseph Jefferson in a 1900 adaptation of Rip Van Winkle. She also worked with Edna May and Cecil Spooner, and was featured in vaudeville productions.
Film career Grandin made her film debut in 1910 working for Carl Laemmle at his Independent Motion Picture Company (IMP) and in 1911 started to work with Thomas Ince, becoming his first leading lady. She moved with Ince to Los Angeles. She returned to working for Laemmle and IMP in Traffic in Souls (1913), which was a big success. In 1914, when she was twenty years old, She made her last film appearance in 1922.
Partial filmography Behind the Times (1911) The Aggressor (1911) The Deserter (1912) The Invaders (1912) When Lincoln Paid (1913) Traffic in Souls (1913) Garments of Truth (1921) The Hunch (1921) A Tailor-Made Man (1922)
Personal life Grandin was married to film director Ray Curtis Smallwood from 1912 until his death in 1964. They had a son, Arthur. She lived in the Motion Picture Country House in Woodland Hills, California beginning in 1958, and was the home's longest resident when she died there from natural causes in 1988, at age 94.
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Important facts
People in Ethel Grandin's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Ethel Grandin's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Ethel Grandin?
American actress (1894–1988)
When was Ethel Grandin born?
Ethel Grandin was born on 3 March 1894 in New York City.
When did Ethel Grandin die?
Ethel Grandin died on 28 September 1988 in Woodland Hills.
What was Ethel Grandin's occupation?
Ethel Grandin was an actor, stage actor, film actor and silent film.
What nationality was Ethel Grandin?
Ethel Grandin was American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Ethel Grandin. https://biography.guide/ethel-grandin/
MLA: "Ethel Grandin." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/ethel-grandin/.
Chicago: "Ethel Grandin." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/ethel-grandin/.
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