Isabelle Ahearn O'Neill

Isabelle Ahearn O'Neill (June 8, 1880 – March 17, 1975) was a stage and screen actor of the silent film era, a suffragist, and the first woman elected to the Rhode Island Legislature. She also served in the state Senate and, under President Franklin Roosevelt, in the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. She was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 2014.

Early life and education Isabelle Florence Ahearn was born on June 8, 1880 in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, the youngest of thirteen children of Mary J. (O'Connor) Ahearn and Daniel Ahearn. Her papers are held by the Rhode Island Historical Society and include scrapbooks from her years as an actor and elocution teacher, as well as a brief autobiographical sketch.