Marilyn Knowlden

Marilyn Knowlden was born in Oakland, California, on May 12, 1926. a Utah-born attorney (and later her agent), and Bertha McKenzie. They married on December 23, 1921. She was an only child. When she was nearly three years old, in early 1929, she entered a beauty pageant for babies and was crowned the winner. She started taking dance lessons at the age of three. One of her teachers saw her show business potential early on, and was convinced that she would make it in the entertainment industry. Among others, she was tutored by Russian-born ballet dancer, choreographer, and actor Theodore Kosloff. ==Career in Hollywood (1931–1944)==

In 1931, Knowlden's father got her a screen test for the Paramount Pictures film Women Love Once while the whole family was visiting Hollywood for reasons related to Robert's work. He had called Fred Datig, a casting director at Paramount. Despite her young age, she managed to handle a speaking part with many lines without any problems. Due to child labor laws at the time, the family had to get permission for her to be able to work. They survived a car accident that day. Knowlden worked steadily in films, many high-budget ones, throughout the 1930s. She was often cast as the daughter of the main characters, or as the leading lady in her childhood. Looking like a younger version of the actress cast as the leading lady was often a major reason why she was cast in a certain role. Unlike most actors, children and adults alike, during the studio system era, she was never contracted to a particular studio. Apart from a temporary period during the filming of Marie Antoinette when she studied at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Little Red Schoolhouse, she went to public school instead of schools for child actors in Hollywood. By 1934, Knowlden was seen as one of the few child actors to have established herself in a competitive industry. She was one of three actresses to portray Jessie Pullman (at age eight) in the 1934 Universal Pictures film Imitation of Life. Over 100 children had auditioned for the part that she ultimately got. The film, based on Fannie Hurst's 1933 novel of the same name, dealt with the topic of passing (a theme that would again be explored in a film that she appeared in a couple of years later, Show Boat). She played Rochelle Hudson's character as a child. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture at the 7th Academy Awards the next year. In 2005, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Knowlden appeared in two Academy Award-nominated films for Best Picture the following year, David Copperfield, and Les Misérables. David Copperfield was based on Charles Dickens' 1850 novel, directed by George Cukor, and released by MGM. It was Freddie Bartholomew's debut in Hollywood. She played David's foster sister Agnes Wickfield as a child. Despite both being cast in the same film, she never met comedic actor W.C. Fields on the set. Her piano playing can be heard in one scene. Les Misérables, directed by Richard Boleslawski, was based on French author Victor Hugo's 1862 novel of the same name. Having both played the same character in Imitation of Life, Knowlden and Rochelle Hudson did it once again in Les Misérables when they portrayed Cosette during different moments of the film. Knowlden's face can be seen on most DVD covers of the film, which starred Fredric March and Charles Laughton. Her performance was described as "memorable" and "excellent" by various newspapers. She would be cast in another one of Boleslawski's films, Metropolitan, later that year. She was cast in Rainbow on the River (1936), starring Bobby Breen, one of the few children's films that Knowlden ever appeared in. A reviewer from Detroit Free Press lauded her performance as Lucille Layton, calling her "a fine little actress". In the 1938 historical drama film Marie Antoinette, she portrayed princess Marie Thérèse of France, daughter of the title character, which was played by Norma Shearer. Knowlden was considered for the role of "Careen O'Hara", Scarlett O'Hara's youngest sister, in Gone With the Wind, which ultimately went to Ann Rutherford. ==Later life and death==

Knowlden attended Beverly Hills High School. She accompanied her husband in his assignment in China and Japan, and became a radio announcer for the United States Armed Forces Radio Station in Nanking, which gave them better accommodations than the barracks. The call sign at her radio station was XMAG. They were also stationed in Yokohama and Shanghai. Leaving the military and returning to the United States, Goates enrolled at Stanford University while Marilyn supported him through school. He graduated in business, but not before they had their first child, Carolyn. He then attained his MBA, and they had two more children, Brian and Kevin, plus one foster child. She went back to Mills College as a student at the age of 50. She moved to Fallbrook in 1983. Then, at the age of 69, she had a leading role in a local theater production of My Fair Lady and continued in a variety of roles. Cinecon honored her with a lifetime achievement award at the Cinecon Classic Movies Festival in September 2010. In 2011, she published an autobiography, Little Girl in Big Pictures, describing her experiences as a child actress during the golden years of Hollywood, and telling "the rest of the story" about her life. She had fond memories of her time in Hollywood, and was always supported by her parents. ==Filmography==