Florence La Badie

Florence La Badie was born Florence Russ on April 27, 1888, the second child of Horace Blancard and Marie Lynch (Chester) Russ in New York City. After the death of her father in 1890 and her mother's inability to provide sufficient care, Florence, at age three, was adopted by Joseph E. and Amanda J. La Badie of Montreal, Canada. She was given their surname.

Florence's adoptive father, Joseph E. La Badie, was a prominent attorney in Montreal. His wife, former Amanda Victor, is said to have been born in Europe, possibly Paris. Florence's adoptive uncle, Oddiehon LaBadie, maintained an estate in nearby St. Lambert. Florence was educated in New York City schools and at the Convent of Notre Dame in Montreal. Having completed her studies, she was offered work as a fashion model in New York City. Once there, in early 1908 she obtained a small part in a stage play. Following this, she signed to tour with a road company for the next two years and appeared on stage in various places in the eastern part of the United States. During this period she met a fellow Canadian, the young actress Mary Pickford, who suggested she "try pictures". In 1909 Pickford invited La Badie to watch the making of a motion picture at the Biograph studio in Manhattan. Given an impromptu bit part, La Badie was invited back to Biograph's studios to participate in another film later that year. She would go on to make several films under the renowned D. W. Griffith, with her first credited film being in the 1909 film The Politician's Love Story, starring Mack Sennett and Kathlyn Williams.

In 1911, La Badie's career took a leap forward when she was hired by Edwin Thanhouser of the Thanhouser Film Corporation in New Rochelle, New York. With her sophistication and beauty, Florence La Badie soon became Thanhouser's most prominent actress, appearing in dozens of films over the next two years. Her most remembered films of that period were The Tempest (1911); Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1912), a film adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson story; and the first film of Shakespeare's Cymbeline (1914). Her most well-known work was in the 1914-1915 serial, The Million Dollar Mystery. In 1915, she was featured in the magazine Reel Life, which described her as "the beautiful and talented Florence La Badie, of the Thanhouser Studios, considered one of the foremost of American screen players". Over a course of six years, La Badie's career had taken her to top-billing as a film actress.