Zenaide Williams

Zenaide Williams (her married name) was born in 1895 (the April 12, 1917 edition of the Motion Picture News Studio Directory says 1885), of French parents in Mississippi. In high school she was an avid reader of plays and classic literature. After viewing many plays during travels with her parents, she decided to go on stage. Her initial work was with Augustin Daly, after which she joined the Alabama company, under the management of A.M. Palmer. While thus engaged, she met and married Odell Williams of the same company. Later, she was seen in Miss Francis of Yale, The Bachelor’s Honeymoon, Becky Sharp, Oglaraine and Selysette, Resurrection, The County Chairman, The Littlest Rebel, and other productions. The New York Dramatic Mirror, February 11, 1914, quoted her as saying: “’Happily married’ women are rarely happy.”

On the screen Zenaide Williams appeared in Thanhouser films in 1915 and 1916. A notice in The New York Dramatic Mirror, September 1, 1915, stated that she had been with Thanhouser for several months but had been forced to give up her screen work because of eye trouble. “She will return to the legitimate stage this season,” the article concluded. Subsequently, she was seen before the footlights in A Pair of Sixes. The 1917 edition of the Motion Picture News Studio Directory noted that she was 5’5” tall and had a fair complexion. At the time she was represented by Ouida Bergere, whose address was Aeolian Hall, New York City. Her spare time interests included writing poetry, playing the violin, and studying languages. In 1920 she acted in the film, The Servant in the House, produced by H.O. Davis for Film Booking Office.