Griffith was born in Texarkana, Texas to John Lewis Griffin and Ambolina (Ambolyn) Ghio. She attended Sacred Heart Convent school in New Orleans and worked as a dancer before she began her acting career. Griffith began her screen career at the Vitagraph Studios in 1916. She later moved to First National, where she became one of their most popular stars. In 1928, she had the starring role in The Garden of Eden. The next year, in 1929, Griffith received an Academy Award nomination for her role in The Divine Lady. Griffith's first sound film, Lilies of the Field, was released in 1930. Griffith's voice did not record well (The New York Times stated that she "talked through her nose"), and the film was a box office flop. After appearing in one more motion picture, the British film Lily Christine in 1932, she retired from acting. She returned to the screen in 1962 in the low-budget melodrama Paradise Alley, which received scant release.
Movie | Paradise Alley | Mrs. Wilson | 1962-01-02 |
Movie | Lily Christine | Lily Christine Summerset | 1932-03-31 |
Movie | Lilies of the Field | Mildred Harker | 1930-01-05 |
Movie | Back Pay | Kitty (as Vivian Oakland) | 1930-06-01 |
Movie | Saturday's Children | Bobby Halevy | 1929-03-10 |
Movie | Prisoners | Riza Riga | 1929-05-18 |
Movie | Outcast | Miriam | 1928-11-11 |
Movie | The Garden of Eden | Toni LeBrun | 1928-02-04 |
Movie | The Divine Lady | Lady Emma Hart Hamilton | 1928-12-26 |
Movie | The Lady in Ermine | Mariana Beltrami | 1927-01-01 |
Movie | Three Hours | Madeline Durkin | 1927-03-05 |
Movie | Mademoiselle Modiste | Fifi | 1926-03-21 |
Movie | Into Her Kingdom | Grand Duchess Tatiana | 1926-08-08 |
Movie | Syncopating Sue | Susan Adams | 1926-10-31 |
Movie | Déclassé | Lady Heelen Haden | 1925-04-11 |
Movie | Infatuation | Violet Bancroft | 1925-12-27 |
Movie | Lilies of the Field | Mildred Harker | 1924-02-29 |
Movie | Black Oxen | Madame Zatianny / Mary Ogden | 1923-12-29 |
Movie | The Common Law | Valerie West | 1923-08-30 |
Movie | The Adventure Shop | Phyllis Blake | 1919-01-06 |
Movie | The Unknown Quantity | Mary Boyne | 1919-04-14 |
Movie | The Clutch of Circumstance | Ruth Lawson | 1918-08-26 |
Movie | The Stolen Treaty | Irene Mitchell | 1917-06-16 |
Movie | Transgression | Marion Hayward | 1917-08-20 |
Movie | The Love Doctor | Blanche Hildreth | 1917-10-08 |
Movie | Through the Wall | Pussy Wimott | 1916-10-02 |