Miller, Marilyn (01 September 1898–07 April 1936), dancer and actress, was born Mary Ellen Reynolds in Evansville, Indiana, the daughter of Edwin D. Reynolds, a lineman for the Cumberland Telephone Company, and Ada Thompson, who had theatrical aspirations. The Reynolds’ marriage broke up when Edwin was reassigned to another locale, and Marilyn’s mother rejected transferring the family. Marilyn was brought up by her mother and a stepfather, Oscar Caro Miller, who had sung, danced, and performed acrobatics in vaudeville and Gilbert and Sullivan operettas....
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Victor Emeljanow
Montez, Lola (1818–17 January 1861), dancer and actress, was born Marie Dolores Eliza Rosanna Gilbert in Limerick, Ireland, the daughter of Edward Gilbert, a professional soldier, and Mary Oliver. At age four Eliza, as she was known, left with her parents for Calcutta, where her father had been posted. After his death in 1824, her mother remarried, and Eliza was sent by her stepfather, John Craigie, to live in Montrose, Scotland. Rebellious and individualistic even at this early age, Eliza was placed in the care of Sir Jasper Nicholls, a distinguished soldier and friend of her stepfather, with whose daughter Fanny she continued her education in Paris and Bath. In 1837 she eloped with Thomas James, an officer in the Indian army on leave in England; they had no children....
