Miss Nancy Carroll

Hello, hello! *whew* I have finished fixing all "lost" pictures on the blog. Even though I love looking at pictures of these great people, that was a tedious and looooong task. BUT, all fixed now! On with the show!

What do I know about Nancy Carroll? Well, she was the picture of the perfect flapper with her big beautiful eyes, cutesy smile, and curly bobbed hair. Oh, and from what I have read, she was kind of a bitch. But hey...let's dig a little deeper and see if we can find a nice lady under this Hot Toddy.

Nancy Carroll was born Ann Veronica Lahiff on November 19, 1903 in New York City. She was the youngest child of Thomas and Ann Lahiff, joining older sisters Sarah, Theresa, Elsie, Margaret, and Agnes, and older brother Martin (Margaret and Agnes died in infancy).

Nancy and her sister, Theresa (her stage name was Terry) began appearing on the stage at a young age, dancing away and even winning contests for their talents. She eventually danced her way to the Broadway stage.

In 1927 she made her film debut in Ladies Must Dress (Yeah, never heard of it either). Throughout her silent film career, she appeared in around 13 films.

Like many of her fellow actors, her stage experience helped usher her in to the talkies. She was popular little actress appearing in such films as Honey (1930), Paramount on Parade (1930), and That Certain Age (1938). I actually have sheet music from the film Honey that I found at an antique store. For $1.00, you bet I snapped that up!

Nancy did manage an Oscar nomination for her role in the 1930 film The Devil's Holiday, but she lost out to Norma Shearer and her role in The Divorcee.

During the late 1930s, she began getting restless with the roles being offered to her from Paramount Studios. This is probably where the whole 'bitch' aspect of her personality came through because word started spreading that she was difficult on set. The studio eventually let her go. She signed with Columbia, but only had bit parts in a few films.

No more films for Nancy. So, she moved on to the new medium of television. She appeared on a number of shows, and the only one I have ever heard of was The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen. She made her appearance on this show in 1959.

Nancy Carroll passed away on August 6, 1965 from an aneurysm.

She was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Woodside, New York alongside her parents and siblings, except for sister Terry.

Nancy was married three times. First to writer Jack Kirkland in 1925. They had a daughter together named Patricia, but divorced after only five years of marriage. Her second marriage was to Francis Bolton Mallory from 1931 until 1935. Her last marriage was to C.H. Jappe Green from 1953. They were married until her death.

For her work as an actress, she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

"Because you think differently, you're considered disagreeable, and upstage, and difficult. AN original thinker has to fight." ~~ Nancy Carroll (Well said, doll baby)