Maxine Elliott

Maxine Elliott (February 5, 1868 – March 5, 1940), also known as Little Jessie, Dettie, or by her birth name Jessie Dermot(t), was an American actress and businesswoman. She managed her own theater and experimented with silent films in the 1910s. Immensely popular, she was rumored to have had intimate relationships with highly notable people such as King Edward VII and J.P. Morgan. During World War I, she was active on the cause of the Belgian relief.

Early life Born on February 5, 1868, to Thomas Dermot, a sea captain and Adelaide Hill Dermot, she had a younger sister, actress Gertrude Elliott and at least two brothers, one of whom, a sailor, was lost at sea in the Indian Ocean.

By age 15 in 1883, Jessie had been seduced and made pregnant by a 25-year-old man whom she may have married underage, according to the biography by Diana Forbes-Robertson, her niece. She either miscarried or lost the baby. This incident left a psychological wound on her for the rest of her life.

Eliott later developed a relationship with a man from a rich local family, Arthur Hall. When suspicions of her pregnancy developed and when her relationship with Hall was eventually exposed, her father and she left for South America. In her later years, she would make bitter remarks about the separation between Hall and her.

Acting

She adopted her stage name Maxine Elliott in 1889, making her first appearance in 1890 in The Middleman. In 1932, she built le Château de l'Horizon near Juan-les-Pins. There, she entertained guests, including Churchill, Lloyd George, and Vincent Sheean. In her old age, diarist "Chips" Channon described her as "an immense bulk of a woman with dark eyes, probably the most amazing eyes one has ever seen", "lovable, fat, oh so fat, witty, and gracious"; he recorded having watched her eat "pat after pat of butter without any bread". Elliott died on March 5, 1940, in Cannes, France, a wealthy woman, at the age of 72.

Death and legacy Elliott was interred at Protestant Cemetery in Cannes and became the subject of a biography titled My Aunt Maxine: The Story of Maxine Elliot 1964, written by her niece, Diana Forbes-Robertson. Her other relatives include British actor Leo Woodall.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1913 From Dusk to Dawn 1917 Fighting Odds Mrs. Copley 1919 The Eternal Magdalene The Eternal Magdalene (final film role)