[[quoteright:340:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lilliangish_354.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:340:The First Lady of American Cinema.]]

->''"Those little virgins, after five minutes you got sick of playing them--to make them more interesting was hard work."''
-->-- '''Lillian Gish'''

Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893 – February 27, 1993) was a pioneering American silent film actor known for her waif-like, innocent characters and for being a favorite of Creator/DWGriffith.

Gish was one of the most popular silent screen icons of the 1910s and enjoyed a long career that spanned over 75 years, [[http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/stars.aspx the longest of any screen legend male or female]], making her one of the few actors whose careers were able to survive the transition from silent film to sound. She is also considered to be one of the first actors to really understand the difference between stage and film acting and modify her performances accordingly. (Other actors in the early days of silent film gave, let's say, [[LargeHam "larger"]] performances.)

Gish starred in the infamous ''Film/{{The Birth of a Nation|1915}}'' and outright refused to acknowledge that the film was racist, staunchly defending her dear friend and mentor D. W. Griffith until the very end. She also worked with Griffith many other times, including a small role in the classic ''Film/{{Intolerance}}'' and main roles in ''Film/BrokenBlossoms'', ''Film/OrphansOfTheStorm'', and perhaps most famously ''Film/WayDownEast'', the climax of which required her to lie still on a very real ice floe for hours on end while her hair and right hand were submerged in below-freezing water. Thanks to the stunt, Gish's hand would be partially impaired for the rest of her life, but she contributed to what is considered one of the most exciting climaxes in cinema history.

Her last silent film, ''Film/{{The Wind|1928}}'', was one of her best. After her talkie debut ''One Romantic Night'' landed with a thud in 1930, she made only one movie over the next twelve years. Instead, she did a lot of theater work, appearing in the original cast of UsefulNotes/PulitzerPrize-winner ''Theatre/AllTheWayHome'' and many other stage productions. As she got older she returned to films as a character actor, appearing in several supporting roles in major sound films, most importantly the CoolOldLady Rachel in ''Film/TheNightOfTheHunter''. Her last two film roles came when she was in her 90s: in ''Film/SweetLiberty'', alongside Creator/AlanAlda, Creator/MichellePfeiffer and Creator/MichaelCaine; and two years later in ''Film/TheWhalesOfAugust'', alongside Creator/BetteDavis and Creator/VincentPrice.

Despite her somewhat controversial views on politics, sexual and otherwise ([[ValuesDissonance she was born in the late 19th century, after all]]), her prudish utterances did not stop salacious Hollywood-insider rumours over her [[LesYay exceptionally close relationship]] [[IncestYayShipping with her sister Dorothy]] (also an actress), but she was still adored by fans for her humble attitude and unfailing generosity towards them. She received an Honorary UsefulNotes/AcademyAward in 1971 and an [[Creator/AmericanFilmInstitute AFI]] Life Achievement Award in 1984, and is #17 on AFI's list of the 25 Greatest Female Stars of All Time.

Music/TheSmashingPumpkins' debut album ''Gish'' was named after her. [[WordOfGod Billy Corgan says]] it's specifically a reference to his grandmother telling him about Gish once passing through her hometown, a "middle of nowhere" insignificant location, on a train.

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!!Lillian Gish films on the wiki:

* ''Film/TheMusketeersOfPigAlley'' (1912)
* ''Film/TheNewYorkHat'' (1912)
* ''Film/{{The Birth of a Nation|1915}}'' (1915)
* ''Film/{{Intolerance}}'' (1916)
* ''Film/HeartsOfTheWorld'' (1918)
* ''Film/BrokenBlossoms'' (1919)
* ''Film/WayDownEast'' (1920)
* ''Film/OrphansOfTheStorm'' (1921)
* ''Film/TheWhiteSister'' (1923)
* ''Film/LaBoheme'' (1926)
* ''[[Film/TheScarletLetter1926 The Scarlet Letter]]'' (1926)
* ''Film/AnnieLaurie'' (1927)
* ''Film/{{The Wind|1928}}'' (1928)
* ''Film/CommandosStrikeAtDawn'' (1942)
* ''Film/DuelInTheSun'' (1946)
* ''Film/PortraitOfJennie'' (1948)
* ''Film/TheCobweb'' (1955)
* ''Film/TheNightOfTheHunter'' (1955)
* ''Film/TheUnforgiven'' (1960)
* ''Film/FollowMeBoys'' (1966)
* ''Film/{{The Comedians|1967}}'' (1967)
* ''Film/{{A Wedding|1978}}'' (1978)
* ''Film/SweetLiberty'' (1986)
* ''Film/TheWhalesOfAugust'' (1987)

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!! Her roles provide examples of:

* BreakTheCutie: Prepare to see her character suffer.
* DawsonCasting: [[invoked]] Several times, including playing a 15-year-old girl when she was 26 in the classic ''Film/BrokenBlossoms''.
* TheIngenue: Some of her most notable roles were this.
-->'''Creator/RogerEbert:''' There is a story that during the filming of ''Film/TheWhalesOfAugust'', [Lindsay] Anderson told Gish one day that she had just performed wonderfully in a closeup. "She should," [[Creator/BetteDavis Davis]] declared. "She invented them."
* TalkingHeads: She appears as an interview subject in the 1980 documentary series ''Series/{{Hollywood|1980}}''.
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