Born Nellie Louise Alberti in 1895, Louise Lovely was an Australian who started acting at the age of nine.

In 1914 she moved to America in and in the following year starred opposite the famous Lon Chaney Snr. in “Father and the Boys”, receiving strong reviews,

As legend has it, Universal Studios head Carl Laemmle gave her a contract with his studio and re-christened her Louise Lovely, much to her horror.

She starred with Chaney again in several other films including her next release Stronger Than Death (1915), The Gilded Spider and Tangled Hearts (both 1916).

Lovely became one of Universal’s major early stars and a challenger to Mary Pickford‘s status as the golden girl of early silent cinema, but was dropped by the studio in 1918 following a contract dispute.

Though she was subsequently picked up by Fox, where she starred in a series of Westerns with William Farnum, her career never reached its earlier heights.

She returned to Australia with her husband, Wilton Welch, in 1924.

They conducted a talent search to support young actresses, and Louise hired 20 women to star in Jewelled Nights, which she wrote and directed in collaboration with her husband.

She died in 1980.

Via BuzzFeed Australia