 lili damita (july 10, 1904 â march 21, 1994) was a french actress who appeared in 33 movies between 1922 and 1937. ==early life and education== born liliane marie-madeleine carrÃ© in blaye, france, she was educated in convents and ballet schools in several european countries, including france, spain and portugal. at 14, she was enrolled as a dancer at the opera de paris. by the age of 16, she was performing in popular music halls, eventually appearing in the revue at the casino de paris. she also worked as a photographic model. offered a role in film as a prize for winning a magazine beauty competition in 1921, she appeared in several silent films before being offered her first leading role in das spielzeug von paris (1925) by hungarian-born director michael curtiz. she was an instant success, and curtiz directed her in two more films: fiaker nr 13 (1926) and der goldene schmetterling (1926). damita continued appearing in german productions directed by robert wiene (die grosse abenteuerin; 1927), g.w. pabst (man spielt nicht mit der liebe; 1926), and british director graham cutts (the queen was in the parlour; 1927). ==career== in 1928, at the invitation of samuel goldwyn she went to hollywood, making her american debut in a film titled the rescue. leased out to various studios, she appeared with stars such as gary cooper, maurice chevalier, laurence olivier, cary grant, and james cagney. her films included the box office successes the cock-eyed world (1929), the semi-silent the bridge of san luis rey (1929), and this is the night (1932). ==personal life==  in 1935, she married a virtual unkn
1904_births 1994_deaths 20th-century_American_actresses 20th-century_French_actresses American_film_actresses Deaths_from_Alzheimer\'s_disease French_emigrants_to_the_United_States French_female_singers French_film_actresses French_silent_film_actresses People_from_Gironde People_from_Palm_Beach,_Florida