Lota Cheek

Lota Cheek (August 31, 1898 – April 22, 1978), also known as Lota Baker Cheek-Sanders and professionally as Lota Sanders, was an American beauty queen and actress in the 1920s.

Early life and education Lota Cheek was born in Pavo, Georgia, the daughter of a farmer named Leon Cheek. Growing up in a rural environment, she later moved to New York City to pursue a career in the public eye. She went to Atlanta and attended Cox College. The incident, which also resulted in the death of a brother-in-law, stemmed from a custody dispute over the two children Nannie shared with Danzey. Nannie was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to two years in prison, which she entered with her three-month-old baby, James. She was paroled in late 1901 due to concerns for the baby's health. Nannie died in 1917, four years before Lota achieved her beauty queen fame.

Career Rise to National Stardom (1921–1922) Cheek gained initial public attention when she won a Boston beauty contest in 1921, earning a $1,000 prize ($18,170.50 in 2025). Her fame increased substantially when she won a major New York City beauty contest in 1922, defeating 6,000 contestants and earning the official title of "America's prettiest girl".

Film Career and Studio Setbacks Following her pageant success, Cheek moved to Hollywood in 1922 to pursue silent films. To separate her film ambitions from her pageant persona, she adopted the stage name Laurette Taylor. She was under contract to Selznick Pictures, owned by Lewis J. Selznick. Her only screen appearance was in The Daughter Pays (1920). Her film career was cut short when Selznick Pictures faced financial instability and eventually entered bankruptcy in 1923, leaving several of her works as lost films.

Broadway Reinvention and Stage Success Despite her film career setbacks and a highly publicized bigamy scandal in 1922—where it was revealed her husband F.L. Simmons was already married to another woman. She appeared in many Broadway productions in total, sometimes under the name Lota Sanders after her marriage.

In 1922, she was involved in a public scandal when a woman, Mrs. E. C. Simmons (sometimes spelled Seimmons), named her as a co-respondent in her divorce case. It was revealed that Cheek's husband at the time, an F.L. Simmons (or Seimmons), had married Lota without first obtaining a proper divorce from his previous wife, making his marriage to Cheek legally invalid. Lota was engaged to silent film star Buster Keaton. It was seen as a potential "power couple" pairing between a top Broadway beauty and one of Hollywood's biggest stars.

The engagement was called off abruptly shortly after it began but this occurred during a turbulent period in both of their lives—Lota was dealing with the fallout of a bigamy scandal involving her previous husband, and Keaton's personal life and career were entering a more complex phase.

In 1924, Lota married the British actor Tyrell Davis in Manhattan while both were performing on Broadway. However, their marriage lasted only a few months as they divorced when Davis returned to England and Lota remained in the United States.

By 1925, she had remarried yet again and took the surname of her new husband, Harry Sanders, and generally used this name thereafter. She and her husband, Mr. Sanders, had two children together.

Later life and death After her period of fame, Lota Cheek-Sanders lived a private life. She died on April 22, 1978, in Tucson, Arizona, at the age of 79.

Filmography Film YearTitleRoleNotes1920 The Daughter Pays Vivi Debut; Silent film

Stage Year Title Role(s) Venue(s)Notes 1921 All Soul's Eve Girl Palace Theatre 1922 Make It Snappy Chorus Winter Garden 1923 The Dancing Girl Dancer New York Theatre 1923 Simon's Called Peter Louise Klaw Theatre 1923 The Vanities Dancer Earl Carroll Theatre 1924 That Awful Mrs. Eaton Mrs. Branch Morosco Theatre 1926 The Man From Toronto Ada Selwyn Theatre 1927 Black Velvet Chorus Liberty Theatre 1930 Cafe Ruth Ritz Theatre