Lillian Gish
actor
You have to be a silent film buff to know about Lillian Gish, but fans of the era will tell you that she was one of the best actresses, a natural actress who helped revolutionize what had been a pretentious pursuit into a more realistic one. Gish's early life was a nomadic one, but according to the Ursuline Academy, she was a boarding student there from 1910 to 1911.
According to the biography published on the website, “Lilian soon grew to love the convent and all it represented. She enjoyed the solitude and closed atmosphere of the place. She was utterly smitten with the nuns and was heard to say many times that they were the most refined women she had ever met. Spiritual by nature, she was drawn to the convent habit and was heard to say many times that she wanted to become a nun. Her teachers said that she was always kind and agreeable to her peers, but that her natural modesty made her less “good company”. She once asked a favourite sister to point out any faults she might have, saying: 'I want to eliminate all faults that may be bothering others.' The sister asserted that after observing Lillian closely for weeks, she could find no fault in her. She was the perfect lodger.”
The bio notes that an autographed copy of Gish's biography is kept in the school library, and that it is “a story of one of your students, told with gratitude and affection.”
