Florence Lawrence ( 1886-1938 )As one of the first motion picture stars, Florence Lawrence was known as “The Biograph Girl.” Throughout her career she appeared
in almost 300 films and became one of the first women to lead a US film studio. She was also an inventor and was credited as the
inventor of the turn signal and the brake signal for automobiles.
In 1908, Lawrence began acting in films directed by D.W. Griffith at the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company. She appeared in
almost all of the sixty films directed by Griffith that year. As she became more popular, Lawrence was able to ask for weekly wages
and better benefits as an actress. She also was able to demand twice the normal salary and her own makeup table. However,
because actors were typically required to remain anonymous, Lawrence became famous as “the Biograph girl.” During this time,
Lawrence met fellow actor Harry Solter, and worked with him on a film called The Girl and the Outlaw. Lawrence and Solter got married
later that year. Unfortunately, they were both fired from the Biograph Company in 1910.
