Movie stars are actors whose personas transcends their work, that is, persons whose personas becomes part of our mass culture. Several of the very first movie starts set the pattern for all those who followed.
In the very early days of the Silent Film era however, there were no movie stars. The studios purposely did not publicize their actors, since to do so might encourage them to demand more money. That changed forever with Florence Lawrence, a former Vaudevillian, and America's first movie star. She began to work in films in 1907, and moved to D.W. Griffith's Biograph studio in 190…
