Mary Forbes

Mary Forbes (30 December 1883 – 22 July 1974) was a British film actress, based in the United States in her latter years, where she died.

She appeared in more than 130 films between 1919 and 1958. Her legal name was Mrs. Ethel Louise Taylor (later Quartermaine, and later still, Wall), according to her son's 6 November 1904 baptismal record which records his parents' names as Ernest John and Ethel Louise Taylor; however, her maiden name is unknown. The dates and lengths of her three marriages are also unknown.

She made her first public appearance on the concert platform giving recitals. Her acting debut was in 1908 on the London stage at Aldwych Theatre. She took over management of the Ambassadors Theatre in 1913 and had several years experience on stage in Britain and America before her appearances in Hollywood films. Her children, Ralph and Brenda, were also actors.

Selected filmography

• Inheritance (1920)
• Nance (1920)
• The Thirteenth Chair (1929)
• The Trespasser (1929)
• Sunny Side Up (1929)
• Her Private Life (1929)
• So This Is London (1930)
• East Is West (1930)
• Born to Love (1931)
• The Man Who Came Back (1931)
• Chances (1931)
• The Brat (1931)
• Working Girls (1931)
• Vanity Fair (1932)
• Bombshell (1933)
• Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round (1934)
• The Most Precious Thing in Life (1934)
• You Can't Buy Everything (1934)
• The Imperfect Lady (1935)
• The Awful Truth (1937)
• Another Dawn (1937)
• Everybody Sing (1938)
• Three Loves Has Nancy (1938)
• You Can't Take It with You (1938)
• Fast and Loose (1939)
• The Sun Never Sets (1939)
• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes(1939)
• Private Affairs (1940)
• South of Suez (1940)
• Nothing But the Truth (1941)
• The Great Impersonation (1942)
• Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943)
• Women in Bondage (1943)
• Terror by Night (1946)
• You Gotta Stay Happy (1948)