About Rosemary Theby
Lived 1892 – 1973 (aged 81). Rosemary Theby was an American actor and film actor.
Rosemary Theresa Theby (born Rose Masing, April 8, 1892 – November 10, 1973) was an American film actress. She appeared in some 250 films between 1911 and 1940.
Early life and career
The daughter of George and Katherine Masing, Theby was born in St. Louis, Missouri. She studied at the Convent of St. Alphonsus in St. Louis and at Sargent's School in New York City. During World War I Theby took care of a refugee from Lithuania. After being educated and cared for by Theby, the young woman became her maid during a time of an acute shortage of maids in Hollywood, in 1920.
As Miss Corintee in The Great Love (1918), Theby played the part of a German spy with great skill. The film was written and directed by D.W. Griffith. This was a femme fatale, or "vampire," role, which she began to play frequently after depicting characters in slapstick comedies. Later she began to portray more serious women.
Thelby's career included Westerns and serials. After Myers' death in 1938,
Theby supported Calvin Coolidge in the 1924 presidential election. Theby enjoyed playing golf, wore her hair in a bob cut, and possessed a preoccupation with personal cleanliness. On screen she appeared tall and willowy, entering a scene, according to one review in the Los Angeles Times, with a "sensuous glide".
Theby died of circulatory shock on November 10, 1973, at the age of 81.
Selected filmography
As You Like It (1912) Mills of the Gods (1912) One Can't Always Tell (1913) Baby (1915) The Winged Mystery (1917) The Silent Mystery (1918) The Great Love (1918) The Rogue (1918) Bright and Early (1918) Boston Blackie's Little Pal (1918) Unexpected Places (1918) The Spender (1919) Faith (1919) Peggy Does Her Darndest (1919) Are You Legally Married? (1919) Heartsease (1919) The Amateur Adventuress (1919) Tangled Threads (1919) Yvonne from Paris (1919) The Mystery of 13 (1919) Terror Island (1920) Rio Grande (1920) Married to Order (1920) Kismet (1920) Dice of Destiny (1920) A Splendid Hazard (1920) Whispering Devils (1920) The Butterfly Man (1920) The Little Grey Mouse (1920) Unseen Forces (1920) A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1921) Shame (1921) Across the Divide (1921) Fightin' Mad (1921) The Last Trail (1921) Good Women (1921) Hickville to Broadway (1921) I Am the Law (1922) Rich Men's Wives (1922) More to Be Pitied Than Scorned (1922) Your Friend and Mine (1923) Lost and Found on a South Sea Island (1923) The Girl of the Golden West (1923) Slander the Woman (1923) In Search of a Thrill (1923) Mary of the Movies (1923) – cameo The Eagle's Feather (1923) Pagan Passions (1924) A Son of the Sahara (1924) Behold This Woman (1924) The Red Lily (1924) Secrets of the Night (1924) So Big (1924) As Man Desires (1925) Fifth Avenue Models (1925) One Year to Live (1925) Wreckage (1925) The Truthful Sex (1926) Riding to Fame (1927) A Bowery Cinderella (1927) The Second Hundred Years (1927) A Woman Against the World (1928) The Port of Missing Girls (1928) The Dream Melody (1929) Montmartre Rose (1929) Midnight Daddies (1930) Ten Nights in a Barroom (1931) The Fatal Glass of Beer (1933) Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935) Rich Relations (1937) One Million B.C. (1940)
Don’t just read it —
keep it.
Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.
- E-book
- Audio
- Video
Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free
Important facts
Family & relationships
People in Rosemary Theby's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Rosemary Theby's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Rosemary Theby?
actress (1892-1973)
When was Rosemary Theby born?
Rosemary Theby was born on 8 April 1892 in St. Louis.
When did Rosemary Theby die?
Rosemary Theby died on 10 November 1973 in Los Angeles.
What was Rosemary Theby's occupation?
Rosemary Theby was an actor and film actor.
What nationality was Rosemary Theby?
Rosemary Theby was American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Rosemary Theby. https://biography.guide/rosemary-theby/
MLA: "Rosemary Theby." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/rosemary-theby/.
Chicago: "Rosemary Theby." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/rosemary-theby/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-22 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
Portrait: Wikimedia Commons · author & licence
Page generated 2026-09-27 05:00 UTC