June Caprice

Biography

June Caprice was born Helen Elizabeth Lawson in Arlington, Massachusetts on November 19, 1895. Her parents, Anna and Peter Lawson, were both born in Norway. June was educated at the Boston Conservatory of Music and began her acting career on the stage. At age 16 the blue-eyed blonde won a Mary Pickford lookalike contest and was then discovered by producer William Fox, who offered her a contract and promised to make her one of Hollywood's biggest stars. In 1916 she made her film debut in "Caprice Of The Mountains." She had starring roles in more than a dozen films at Fox including "A Small Town Girl", "Child Of The Wild", and "Every Girl's Dream", almost always cast as a innocent ingenue. The petite actress was just five feet two inches tall and weighed 105 pounds. She appeared on numerous magazine covers and by 1918 was getting more fan mail than any other actress at the studio. During World War I she volunteered as a nurses aid. After leaving Fox in 1919 she starred in the dramas "Rogue and Romance" and "The Love Cheat." She also modeled for Coca Cola calendars. In 1920 June married Harry F. Millarde, who had directed her in several films; soon after she decided to quit acting. Her final role was in the 1921 serial "The Sky Ranger." She gave birth to daughter June Elizabeth on June 29, 1922, and for the next decade she devoted herself to being a wife and mother. Tragically, in 1931 her husband Harry died from a heart attack, and she and her daughter moved in with her parents in Los Angeles. Then in her late thirties she was diagnosed with cancer; her health quickly deteriorated and she died on November 9, 1936 at only 40 years old. She was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. Her 14-year-old daughter June Elizabeth Millarde was raised by her grandparents; she later changed her name to Toni Seven and became a model and actress.