Marie Lorraine

Australian actress

Marie Lorraine

Born	Isabella (Isabel) Mercia McDonagh (1899-01-03)3 January 1899 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died	5 March 1982(1982-03-05) (aged 83) London, England
Occupation	Actress
Children	3
Relatives	Phyllis McDonagh (sister), Paulette McDonagh (sister)

Isabella Mercia McDonagh (3 January 1899 – 5 March 1982), also known as Marie Lorraine, was an Australian actress who often worked in collaboration with her sisters Paulette and Phyllis.^[1]^[2] Isabella, alongside her two sisters made history by owning and running a film production company, therefore becoming the first Australian women to do so.^[3]

She visited Hollywood in 1933 but did not elect to stay on and make a career there.^[4]

Early life

Isabella Mercia McDonagh was born 3 January 1899 at Macquaire Street in Sydney, Australia, becoming one of seven children born to John McDonagh, a medical practitioner, and Annie Jane (née Amora).^[5] Since her father was a surgeon to a theatrical company, she was familiar with the entertainment industry and as a young girl, showed an interest in acting. She entered the film industry with her sisters Paulette, writer and director of all their films, and Phyllis who became the art director, publicist and producer.^[6] She died on 5 March 1982.

Awards

Isabella Mercia McDonagh was inducted onto the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2001.^[7]
Isabella and her sisters Paulette and Phyllis were recipients of the 1978 Raymond Longford award (Australian Film Institute)^[8]

Partial filmography

Joe (1924)
Painted Daughters (1925)
Those Who Love (1926)
The Far Paradise (1928)
The Cheaters (1930)
Two Minutes Silence (1933)

References

^ "NEW AUSTRALIAN FILM". The Referee. Sydney. 25 August 1926. p. 11. Retrieved 28 October 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "WHEN THREE DASHING SISTERS MADE A MOVIE". The Australian Women's Weekly. 21 April 1971. p. 4. Retrieved 28 October 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "The Encyclopedia Of Women & Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia".
^ "HOLLYWOOD". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1 March 1934. p. 8 Supplement: Women's Supplement. Retrieved 28 March 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
^ Wright, Andrée, "McDonagh, Isabella Mercia (Isabel) (1899–1982)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 20 March 2019
^ "The McDonagh Sisters – Women Film Pioneers Project". wfpp.cdrs.columbia.edu. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
^ "Victorian Honour Roll of Women" (PDF).
^ "Biography - Isabella Mercia".

External links

Marie Lorraine at IMDb
Marie Lorraine at Australian Dictionary of Biography
The McDonagh Sisters at The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia