--- name: "Bebe Daniels" canonical: "https://film.one/person/bebe-daniels" roles: ["Actor"] born: "14 January 1901" died: "16 March 1971" reviewed_on_fi1m: 1 average_as: "actor" average_over: 1 updated: "2026-09-19T22:07:59.079636+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Bebe Daniels Actor. Born 14 January 1901 in Dallas, Texas, USA. Died 16 March 1971. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 14 January 1901, Dallas, Texas, USA - **Died:** 16 March 1971 - **Also known as:** Phyllis Virginia Daniels, Bebe Daniels Lyon, Phyllis Virginia "Bebe" Daniels, Danny Daniels - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bebe_Daniels, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q255577, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0199841/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/30000 ## Streaming the US now - **HBO Max:** [*42nd Street*](https://film.one/film/42nd-street.md) (82) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Bebe Daniels > Bebe Daniels played the worldly woman who knew exactly what everything cost, and she played her without asking to be liked. Thirty years of silents and shorts came before it; her Dorothy Brock in *42nd Street* is the reason to seek her out. Dorothy Brock, the star of the show within the show in *42nd Street* (1933), knows what Abner Dillon's bracelets are worth and what they cost her, and she still slips out to see Pat Denning, George Brent in a raincoat. Bebe Daniels plays her as a woman doing arithmetic. There is no scene where the hard shell comes off to show us the good heart underneath, and she does not seem to think she needs one. Ruby Keeler gets the sympathy in that film. Daniels gets the better part. By then she had been at it for most of her life. She was on stage at four and in silent shorts from around 1910, and between 1915 and 1919 she made more than 150 of them opposite Harold Lloyd for Hal Roach. That is where the timing comes from: a two-reeler leaves no room to work up to a joke. In 1919 Cecil B. DeMille took her to Paramount, starting with *Male and Female*, and she spent the 1920s as a leading lady in comedies and dramas, usually cast as the lively young woman beside a bigger male name. Sound finished a good many silent stars. Daniels sang. *Rio Rita* (1929) at RKO showed she had a voice and could carry an accent, and it made her a working star in talkies when that was far from guaranteed. *The Maltese Falcon* (1931) had her as Ruth Wonderly ten years before the version everyone knows. Then came Warner Bros. and *42nd Street*, which we scored 82 and which still moves fast and talks hard about money. We liked Dorothy more than we expected to, and the reason is that Daniels never plays her for laughs or for pity; every crack about Dillon is said by someone who has read the contract. The cost of being good at musicals is that you are a musical star, and when the studios cooled on the form in the mid-1930s her Hollywood career cooled with it. She went to Britain and, with Ben Lyon, built a second career on stage, radio and television that ran into the 1960s. We have not seen enough of that work to judge it here, and the Lloyd shorts are for the patient. The Warner film is the place to start. On This Is Your Life, around 1954, she said: "I've been away so long, they won't remember me." Watch her count her bracelets and decide for yourself. ## Biography Bebe Daniels was an American actress, singer, dancer, writer and producer. Born Phyllis Virginia Daniels in Dallas, Texas, she began performing on stage as a child and entered films in the silent era, appearing in numerous shorts before taking adult roles. She became a star at Paramount Pictures and successfully transitioned to sound films, appearing in musicals including *Rio Rita* (1929) and *42nd Street* (1933), in which she played Dorothy Brock. Other credits include *The Maltese Falcon* (1931). In 1930 she married actor Ben Lyon. The couple moved to Britain in the mid-1930s, where they achieved success on stage, radio and television, including the long-running series *Life with the Lyons*. Daniels appeared in around 230 films over a career spanning five decades. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, encyclopedia.com.* ## On Fi1m (1) - *42nd Street* (1933), Fi1m 82, as Dorothy Brock — [page](https://film.one/film/42nd-street.md) ## Complete filmography (235) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Harold Lloyd's World of Comedy* (1962), as (archive footage) - *The Lyons in Paris* (1955), as Bebe · Writer - *Life with the Lyons* (1955), series, Actor - *Life with the Lyons* (1954), as Bebe Lyon · Writer - *Hi Gang!* (1941), as The Liberty Girl - *The Return of Carol Deane* (1938), as Carol Deane - *Music Is Magic* (1935), as Diane De Valle - *Registered Nurse* (1934), as Sylvia 'Ben' Benton - *A Southern Maid* (1934), as Juanita / Dolores - *Counsellor at Law* (1933), as Regina 'Rexy' Gordon - *The Song You Gave Me* (1933), as Mitzi Hansen - *Cocktail Hour* (1933), as Cynthia - *42nd Street* (1933), as Dorothy Brock — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/42nd-street.md) - *Silver Dollar* (1932), as Lily Owens Martin - *Honor of the Family* (1931), as Laura - *The Maltese Falcon* (1931), as Ruth Wonderly - *My Past* (1931), as Doree Macy - *The Stolen Jools* (1931), as Mrs. Ben Lyon - *Reaching for the Moon* (1930), as Vivien Benton - *Lawful Larceny* (1930), as Marion Dorsey - *Dixiana* (1930), as Dixiana Caldwell - *Alias French Gertie* (1930), as Gertie Jones - *Love Comes Along* (1930), as Peggy - *Rio Rita* (1929), as Rita Ferguson - *What a Night!* (1928), as Dorothy Winston - *Take Me Home* (1928), as Peggy Lane - *Hot News* (1928), as Pat Clancy - *The Fifty-Fifty Girl* (1928), as Kathleen O'Hara - *Feel My Pulse* (1928), as Barbara Manning - *She's a Sheik* (1927), as Zaida - *Swim Girl, Swim* (1927), as Alice Smith - *Senorita* (1927), as Señorita Francesca Hernandez - *A Kiss in a Taxi* (1927), as Ginette - *Stranded in Paris* (1926), as Julie McFadden - *The Campus Flirt* (1926), as Patricia Mansfield - *Volcano* (1926), as Zabette de Chavalons - *The Palm Beach Girl* (1926), as Emily Bennett - *Miss Brewster's Millions* (1926), as Polly Brewster - *The Splendid Crime* (1925), as Jenny - *Lovers in Quarantine* (1925), as Diana - *Wild, Wild Susan* (1925), as Susan Van Dusen - *The Manicure Girl* (1925), as Maria Maretti - Manicurist - *The Crowded Hour* (1925), as Peggy Laurence - *Miss Bluebeard* (1925), as Colette Girard - *Argentine Love* (1924), as Consuelo Garcia - *Dangerous Money* (1924), as Adele Clark - *Hello, 'Frisco* (1924), as Bebe Daniels - *Sinners in Heaven* (1924), as Barbara Stockley - *Monsieur Beaucaire* (1924), as Princess Henriette - *Unguarded Women* (1924), as Breta Banning - *Daring Youth* (1924), as Alita Allen - *The Heritage of the Desert* (1924), as Mescal - *His Children's Children* (1923), as Diane - *Hollywood* (1923), as Bebe Daniels - *The Exciters* (1923), as Ronnie Rand - *The Glimpses of the Moon* (1923), as Susan Branch - *The World's Applause* (1923), as Corinne d'Alys - *Singed Wings* (1922), as Bonita della Guerda - *Pink Gods* (1922), as Lorraine Temple - *Nice People* (1922), as Theodora (Teddy) Gloucester - *North of the Rio Grande* (1922), as Val Hannon - *A Game Chicken* (1922), as Inez Hastings - *Nancy from Nowhere* (1922), as Nancy - *The Affairs of Anatol* (1921), as Satan Synne - *The Speed Girl* (1921), as Betty Lee - *The March Hare* (1921), as Lisbeth Ann Palmer - *Two Weeks with Pay* (1921), as Pansy O'Donnell / Marie La Tour - *One Wild Week* (1921), as Pauline Hathaway - *Ducks and Drakes* (1921), as Teddy Simpson - *The Affairs of Anatol - Promo Reel* (1921), as As herself - *She Couldn't Help It* (1920), as Young Nance - *Oh, Lady, Lady* (1920), as Mary Barber - *You Never Can Tell* (1920), as Rowena Patricia Jones - *The Fourteenth Man* (1920), as Marjory Seaton - *Sick Abed* (1920), as Nurse Durant - *Why Change Your Wife?* (1920), as Sally Clark - *The Dancin' Fool* (1920), as Junie Budd - *Everywoman* (1919), as Vice - *Captain Kidd's Kids* (1919), as The Girl - *Male and Female* (1919), as The King's favorite - *Bumping Into Broadway* (1919), as The Girl - *His Only Father* (1919), Actor - *Pay Your Dues* (1919), Actor - *Count the Votes* (1919), Actor - *Soft Money* (1919), Actor - *He Leads, Others Follow* (1919), Actor - *The Rajah* (1919), Actor - *Be My Wife* (1919), Actor - *Don't Shove* (1919), as Bebe - *Heap Big Chief* (1919), Actor - *Chop Suey & Co.* (1919), Actor - *Count Your Change* (1919), as Miss Flighty - *A Jazzed Honeymoon* (1919), Actor - *Never Touched Me!* (1919), as Love Interest / “Princess Sapphire” - *At the Old Stage Door* (1919), Actor - *Just Neighbors* (1919), as The Bride - *Billy Blazes, Esq.* (1919), as Nell - *Spring Fever* (1919), as The Girl - *Off the Trolley* (1919), as Trolley collector - *Swat the Crook* (1919), Actor - *Pistols for Breakfast* (1919), Actor - *Back to the Woods* (1919), as Jeanne, Belle o' the Woods - *The Marathon* (1919), as The Rich Girl - *Before Breakfast* (1919), Actor - *Si, Senor* (1919), Actor - *Ring Up the Curtain* (1919), as The Leading Lady - *Young Mr. Jazz* (1919), as The Girl - *Crack Your Heels* (1919), Actor - *Just Dropped In* (1919), Actor - *A Sammy in Siberia* (1919), as Olga - the Russian Girl - *Next Aisle Over* (1919), as Vera De Luxe - *The Dutiful Dub* (1919), Actor - *Look Out Below* (1919), as The Girl - *I'm on My Way* (1919), as The Girl - *On the Fire* (1919), Actor - *Ask Father* (1919), as Switchboard operator - *Going! Going! Gone!* (1919), Actor - *Love's Young Scream* (1919), Actor - *Wanted - $5,000* (1919), Actor - *She Loves Me Not* (1918), Actor - *Take a Chance* (1918), as The Hired Girl - *Hear 'Em Rave* (1918), Actor - *Nothing But Trouble* (1918), Actor - *Why Pick on Me?* (1918), Actor - *Swing Your Partners* (1918), Actor - *Bees in His Bonnet* (1918), Actor - *Two Scrambled* (1918), Actor - *Bride and Gloom* (1918), as Bride - *That's Him* (1918), Actor - *Kicking the Germ Out of Germany* (1918), Actor - *An Ozark Romance* (1918), Actor - *Are Crooks Dishonest?* (1918), as Miss Goulash - *Somewhere in Turkey* (1918), as A Girl in Danger - *Sic 'Em, Towser* (1918), Actor - *The City Slicker* (1918), as The Girl - *Fireman Save My Child* (1918), as Girl - *Two-Gun Gussie* (1918), as The Girl - *The Non-Stop Kid* (1918), as Miss Wiggle - *Kicked Out* (1918), Actor - *Hey There* (1918), as The Leading Lady - *It's a Wild Life* (1918), as The Girl - *Pipe the Whiskers* (1918), Actor - *Follow the Crowd* (1918), Actor - *On the Jump* (1918), as The Favorite - *Let's Go* (1918), Actor - *Here Come the Girls* (1918), Actor - *Look Pleasant, Please* (1918), as Harold's Sweetheart - *A Gasoline Wedding* (1918), as The Girl - *Beat It* (1918), Actor - *Hit Him Again* (1918), Actor - *Hello Teacher* (1918), Actor - *The Lamb* (1918), Actor - *The Tip* (1918), Actor - *The Big Idea* (1917), as The Girl - *Step Lively* (1917), Actor - *Bashful* (1917), as The Girl - *Move On* (1917), Actor - *We Never Sleep* (1917), Actor - *All Aboard* (1917), as The Girl - *Clubs Are Trump* (1917), as Betty - *The Flirt* (1917), as Girl - *Love, Laughs and Lather* (1917), Actor - *Rainbow Island* (1917), Actor - *From Laramie to London* (1917), Actor - *Bliss* (1917), as The Girl - *Birds of a Feather* (1917), Actor - *By the Sad Sea Waves* (1917), as The Doll - *Pinched* (1917), Actor - *Lonesome Luke Loses Patients* (1917), Actor - *Over the Fence* (1917), as Ginger's Girl - *Lonesome Luke's Wild Women* (1917), Actor - *Lonesome Luke, Mechanic* (1917), Actor - *Lonesome Luke, Messenger* (1917), as The Girl - *Stop! Luke! Listen!* (1917), Actor - *Lonesome Luke, Plumber* (1917), Actor - *Lonesome Luke's Honeymoon* (1917), Actor - *Lonesome Luke on Tin Can Alley* (1917), as Moll - *Lonesome Luke's Lively Life* (1917), Actor - *Luke Wins Ye Ladye Faire* (1917), Actor - *Lonesome Luke, Lawyer* (1917), Actor - *Luke's Trolley Troubles* (1917), Actor - *Drama's Dreadful Deal* (1917), as Guest appearance (rumored) - *Luke's Busy Day* (1917), Actor - *Luke's Lost Liberty* (1917), Actor - *Lonesome Luke's Lovely Rifle* (1917), Actor - *Luke's Shattered Sleep* (1916), as Flophouse Maid - *Luke Locates the Loot* (1916), Actor - *Luke's Fireworks Fizzle* (1916), Actor - *Luke, Rank Impersonator* (1916), Actor - *Luke's Movie Muddle* (1916), as Woman in the Theater - *Luke's Newsie Knockout* (1916), Actor - *Luke, Patient Provider* (1916), Actor - *Luke, the Gladiator* (1916), Actor - *Luke's Preparedness Preparations* (1916), Actor - *Luke, the Chauffeur* (1916), Actor - *Luke and the Bang-Tails* (1916), Actor - *Luke's Speedy Club Life* (1916), as The Girl - *Luke and the Mermaids* (1916), Actor - *Luke Joins the Navy* (1916), Actor - *Luke Does the Midway* (1916), Actor - *Luke's Lost Lamb* (1916), Actor - *Luke, Crystal Gazer* (1916), Actor - *Luke Rides Roughshod* (1916), Actor - *Luke's Washful Waiting* (1916), as The Girl - *Luke's Society Mixup* (1916), Actor - *Luke's Fatal Flivver* (1916), Actor - *Luke Laughs Last* (1916), Actor - *Luke's Late Lunchers* (1916), Actor - *Luke and the Bomb Throwers* (1916), Actor - *Them Was the Happy Days!* (1916), Actor - *Luke's Double* (1916), Actor - *Lonesome Luke, Circus King* (1916), Actor - *Luke Pipes the Pippins* (1916), Actor - *Luke and the Rural Roughnecks* (1916), Actor - *Luke Foils the Villain* (1916), as Maizie Nut - *Luke, the Candy Cut-Up* (1916), Actor - *Lonesome Luke Lolls in Luxury* (1916), Actor - *Luke Lugs Luggage* (1916), Actor - *Lonesome Luke Leans to the Literary* (1916), Actor - *Lonesome Luke, Social Gangster* (1915), Actor - *Peculiar Patients' Pranks* (1915), Actor - *Ruses, Rhymes and Roughnecks* (1915), Actor - *A Foozle at the Tee Party* (1915), Actor - *Ragtime Snap Shots* (1915), Actor - *Great While It Lasted* (1915), Actor - *Tinkering with Trouble* (1915), Actor - *Bughouse Bellhops* (1915), Actor - *Giving Them Fits* (1915), as Co-Worker - *Fresh from the Farm* (1915), as Secondary Role (uncredited) (unconfirmed) - *Anne of the Golden Heart* (1914), as Lucy Blake - the Daughter - *The Savage* (1913), Actor - *Justinian and Theodora* (1910), Actor - *The Common Enemy* (1910), Actor - *The Wonderful Wizard of Oz* (1910), as Dorothy Gale - *The Courtship of Miles Standish* (1910), Actor ## Gallery - ![Actress Bebe Daniels (1901 - 1971) is well-remembered in Orange County for turning her stint in County jail for speeding into a public relations coup. There are](https://film.one/media/person/1225894/gallery-2efbb71cdd1e.jpg) Actress Bebe Daniels (1901 - 1971) is well-remembered in Orange County for turning her stint in County jail for speeding into a public relations coup. There are — Orange County Archives from Orange County, California, United States of America, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Actress_Bebe_Daniels.jpg/1280px-Actress_Bebe_Daniels.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Included in the set of Rolf Armstrong's 16 screen beauties. (1930)](https://film.one/media/person/1225894/gallery-293422aa8dab.jpg) Included in the set of Rolf Armstrong's 16 screen beauties. (1930) — Screenland, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/Bebe_Daniels_-_Cadmium_Orange.jpg/1280px-Bebe_Daniels_-_Cadmium_Orange.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Bebe Daniels](https://film.one/media/person/1225894/gallery-f653ff19fc48.jpg) Bebe Daniels — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Film_actress_Bebe_Daniels_%28SAYRE_22767%29.jpg/1280px-Film_actress_Bebe_Daniels_%28SAYRE_22767%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Title: Bebe Daniels Abstract/medium: 1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller. (1900)](https://film.one/media/person/1225894/gallery-5c94312bb3f2.jpg) Title: Bebe Daniels Abstract/medium: 1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller. (1900) — Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/Bebe_Daniels_LCCN2014719644.jpg/1280px-Bebe_Daniels_LCCN2014719644.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Bebe Daniels](https://film.one/media/person/1225894/gallery-55c680dc022e.jpg) Bebe Daniels — Image via TMDB - ![Bebe Daniels](https://film.one/media/person/1225894/gallery-0fef4408cf4d.jpg) Bebe Daniels — Image via TMDB - ![Bebe Daniels](https://film.one/media/person/1225894/gallery-3704dcd9a79e.jpg) Bebe Daniels — Image via TMDB - ![Title: Bebe Daniels Abstract/medium: 1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller. (1900)](https://film.one/media/person/1225894/gallery-cf62064f34ba.jpg) Title: Bebe Daniels Abstract/medium: 1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller. (1900) — Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Bebe_Daniels_LCCN2014712151.jpg/1280px-Bebe_Daniels_LCCN2014712151.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Title: Bebe Daniels Abstract/medium: 1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller.](https://film.one/media/person/1225894/gallery-2495294518ef.jpg) Title: Bebe Daniels Abstract/medium: 1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller. — Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Bebe_Daniels_LCCN2014711769.jpg/1280px-Bebe_Daniels_LCCN2014711769.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/bebe-daniels