deMille was born in
Liverpool, England to
German Jewish parents. She emigrated to New York with her family in 1871. She was married to
Henry deMille, an aspiring
actor in
Brooklyn, New York, in 1876. He was a Christian so she had to marry without her family's approval. Together, Beatrice deMille and Henry deMille worked primarily as teachers in a preparatory school. She taught elocution whilst her husband taught the children how to compose. However, during their vacation time Henry became successful as a playwright and actor and the family thrived. In 1893, Henry died and deMille had to create an income. She converted her house in
Pompton, New Jersey into the
Henry C. deMille Preparatory School for Girls. She was able to trade a free class at that school with the President of a boys' school to get Cecil educated and William was sent to a school in Germany. At the same time she negotiated with her late husband's co-author to be the agent for their plays. This worked out and her success led to her representing the work of other writers. In 1900, Beatrice deMille collaborated with
Harriet Ford to write her first published play "The Greatest Thing in The World" – directed by Liebler & Company, and performed on
Broadway and in
Washington DC. In 1907 the
Henry C. deMille Preparatory School for Girls lost its students after it was identified as one of the schools that the scandalous
Evelyn Nesbit had attended and the school as "guilty by association". Beatrice recovered rapidly by taking on even more writers including her sons. Cecil B de Mille credits his mother with teaching him to write and direct. Beatrice was a deal maker and she introduced her son to
Jesse Lasky and his production grew to be
Paramount Pictures. The company would produce her son's silent epics. She moved to California in 1914 and she is credited with launching the careers of actor
Victor Moore who appeared in her son's films and screenwriter
Beulah Marie Dix. Over the next few years she wrote a fair number of screen plays which were made into silent films. She stopped writing in 1920 and enjoyed her and her son's wealth. ==Legacy and family==