Marion Davies

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Lore & Background

Marion Davies was born in Brooklyn, the youngest of five children of Bernard J. Douras, a lawyer and judge, and Rose Reilly. Educated in the Sacred Heart religious convent near the Hudson River and later a religious convent near Tours, France, she was uninterested in her academic studies and very unhappy as a child supervised by Catholic nuns. She struggled with a stutter and convinced her mother to let her leave school early. As a teenager, she pursued a career as a showgirl, adopting the stage name Davies after her sister Reine saw it on a real estate billboard. She worked as a chorus line dancer starting with *Chin-Chin* in 1914 and made her Broadway debut at the Globe Theatre. In 1916, she was signed as a featured player in the Ziegfeld Follies, though her stammer relegated her to dancing routines. While dancing in the Follies at the New Amsterdam Theatre, the teenage Davies was first observed by William Randolph Hearst, who sat in the front row. She recalled being afraid of him initially, warned by other girls that he was 'a wolf in sheep's clothing.' Hearst purportedly went to the Follies every night for eight weeks solely to gaze at Davies. After making her screen debut in 1916, she appeared in *Runaway Romany* (1917), her first feature film, which she also wrote. In 1918, Hearst formed Cosmopolitan Pictures and signed Davies to a $500-per-week exclusive contract. He spent an estimated $7 million promoting her career. By 1924, she was the number one female box office star, thanks to hits like *When Knighthood Was in Flower* and *Little Old New York*. She became renowned as the hostess of lavish soirees for Hollywood actors and political elites. However, in 1924, her name became linked with scandal when film producer Thomas Ince died at a party aboard Hearst's yacht. Following the decline of her film career during the Great Depression, Davies struggled with alcoholism. She retired from the screen in 1937 to devote herself to an ailing Hearst and charitable work. She remained his steadfast companion until his death in 1951. Eleven weeks after Hearst's death, she married sea captain Horace Brown. Davies died at 64 from malignant osteomyelitis (bone cancer) of the jaw in 1961.

Reader's Guide

Marion Davies's significance lies in her rise to stardom under the patronage of William Randolph Hearst, who spent an estimated $7 million promoting her career. She was a talented actress and comedienne, but her legacy was damaged by the widespread assumption that the character of Susan Alexander Kane in *Citizen Kane* (1941) was based on her. That character—an attractive but untalented singer promoted by the title character—overshadowed Davies's actual achievements. Orson Welles himself defended Davies as a gifted actress and said Hearst's patronage did more harm than good. In his final years, Welles tried to correct the misconceptions the film created. Davies's career included 29 films in ten years, and she was named the top female box-office star by theater owners in 1924. Her life illustrates the complex interplay of media power, personal relationships, and Hollywood fame.

Did You Know?

• Davies wrote the screenplay for her first feature film, *Runaway Romany* (1917).
• Hearst spent an estimated $7 million promoting Davies's career (equivalent to about $156 million in 2025).
• Davies was named the number one female box-office star by theater owners and crowned 'Queen of the Screen' at their 1924 Hollywood convention.
• Orson Welles defended Davies as a gifted actress and comedienne, and in his final years tried to correct the misconceptions *Citizen Kane* created about her.
• Davies married sea captain Horace Brown just eleven weeks after Hearst's death.

From Convent to Chorus Line: The Making of a Showgirl

Marion Cecilia Douras entered the world on January 3, 1897, in Brooklyn, the youngest of five children of Bernard J. Douras, a New York lawyer and judge, and Rose Reilly. Her childhood was marked by unhappiness under the supervision of Catholic nuns at the Sacred Heart convent near the Hudson River and later at a religious school near Tours, France. Academically disengaged and tormented by a persistent stutter that drew ridicule from both peers and teachers, Marion convinced her mother to release her from school well before graduation. She then threw herself into the world of performance, beginning as a chorus-line dancer in *Chin-Chin*, a 1914 musical at Philadelphia's old Forrest Theatre, before making her Broadway debut at the Globe Theatre on October 20. The family name she would become known by came about almost by accident: her sister Reine spotted the surname 'Davies' on a real estate billboard and adopted it as a stage name, prompting Marion to follow suit. The household's social circle included architect Stanford White, and young Marion absorbed the drama of the Evelyn Nesbit scandal as part of her upbringing.

Hearst's Patronage and the Ascent to Stardom

The encounter that would reshape Marion's trajectory occurred in 1916, when the nineteen-year-old chorus dancer caught the eye of fifty-three-year-old newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, who sat in the front row at the New Amsterdam Theatre. Fellow performers warned her to watch her step, calling him 'a wolf in sheep's clothing,' and he showered her with flowers and small gifts like silver boxes, gloves, or candy. According to Davies's own recollection, Hearst attended the Follies every night for eight consecutive weeks simply to watch her dance. A clandestine photoshoot he arranged without her knowledge—dressing her in a Japanese geisha costume and a virginal bride gown—left her so frightened that she fled to her dressing room and locked the door. Their relationship deepened gradually, eventually making her his mistress. Hearst assumed full control of her professional life: he bankrolled her films, amplified her visibility through his newspaper empire and Hearst newsreels, and established Cosmopolitan Pictures as her production vehicle. By 1924, the box-office pull of *When Knighthood Was in Flower* and *Little Old New York* had elevated Davies to the number one female box office star in Hollywood.

Jazz Age Glamour and the Shadow of Scandal

At the height of the Jazz Age, Marion Davies had become synonymous with a particular brand of Hollywood glamour that extended well beyond the silver screen. She cultivated a reputation as a hostess of extraordinary lavishness, throwing soirees that drew both the industry's leading performers and the country's political elite into her orbit. Frequent habitués and occasional visitors included Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Harpo Marx, Clark Gable, Calvin Coolidge, Winston Churchill, Charles Lindbergh, and Amelia Earhart. This social prominence, however, carried a dangerous undercurrent. In 1924, the death of film producer Thomas Ince at a gathering aboard Hearst's yacht thrust Davies into the center of a sensational scandal that tarnished her public image. Despite the tabloid frenzy, Davies's actual craft as a performer—her work as a comedienne, her screenwriting credit on *Runaway Romany*, and her broader involvement as a producer—remained evidence of genuine talent. She was not merely a passive vehicle for Hearst's ambitions; she wrote, performed, and shaped her own projects. Yet the spectacle of her social life and the shadow of the Ince tragedy would increasingly eclipse the quieter achievements of her artistic career in the public imagination.

Decline, Devotion, and the Citizen Kane Shadow

The Great Depression dealt a severe blow to Davies's film career, and in the years that followed she battled alcoholism while watching her screen presence fade. She retired from acting in 1937, redirecting her energy toward caring for a progressively ailing Hearst and engaging in charitable work. For the next fourteen years she remained his constant companion until his death in 1951. Only eleven weeks later, she married sea captain Horace Brown, finding a quieter domestic life that continued until her own passing. Marion Davies died at sixty-four on September 22, 1961, from malignant osteomyelitis, a bone cancer of the jaw. Yet even in death her reputation was not entirely her own. Orson Welles's 1941 film Citizen Kane cast Susan Alexander Kane—an attractive but supposedly untalented singer—as a widely recognized portrait of Davies. Welles himself, along with other commentators, pushed back against this reading, insisting she was a gifted actress and comedienne whose career was damaged more by Hearst's patronage than by any lack of ability. In his later years, Welles actively worked to correct the misconceptions the film had embedded in popular memory.

Decline, Devotion, and the *Citizen Kane* Shadow

The Great Depression dealt a severe blow to Davies's film career, and in the years that followed she battled alcoholism while watching her screen presence fade. She retired from acting in 1937, redirecting her energy toward caring for a progressively ailing Hearst and engaging in charitable work. For the next fourteen years she remained his constant companion until his death in 1951. Only eleven weeks later, she married sea captain Horace Brown, finding a quieter domestic life that continued until her own passing. Marion Davies died at sixty-four on September 22, 1961, from malignant osteomyelitis, a bone cancer of the jaw. Yet even in death her reputation was not entirely her own. Orson Welles's 1941 film *Citizen Kane* cast Susan Alexander Kane—an attractive but supposedly untalented singer—as a widely recognized portrait of Davies. Welles himself, along with other commentators, pushed back against this reading, insisting she was a gifted actress and comedienne whose career was damaged more by Hearst's patronage than by any lack of ability. In his later years, Welles actively worked to correct the misconceptions the film had embedded in popular memory.