Lillian Gish (photo: 1915) (1893-1993) was born into a broken family where her restless father was frequently absent.Her mother,had entered into acting to make money to support the family.As soon as Lillian and her sister Dorothy were old enough,they became part of the act.To supplement their income,the two sisters also posed for pictures and acted in melodramas of the time.D.W. Griffith was impressed by both the girls and especially by Lillian.Over the next decade,Lillian was to become one of Griffith's greatest stars.With Griffith,she became the greatest screen heroine of the time and was known as The First Lady of the Silent Screen.Lillian never forgot Griffith,even when everyone else in Hollywood did.She helped care for the ailing Griffith and his wife until Griffith died in 1948.In the forties she again appeared in a handful of talkies and received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination.Lillian Gish never married.