Gwili Andre: The Lady of Mystery

As requested, I am turning your attention to another obscure star who was one of the many women used as an experiment by the studios to create another Garbo. Like all other actresses used for this experiment, she ended up as another failed attempt (except for Dietrich, that is.) Not much is known about this sultry, Scandinavian beauty other than the fact that she was quite gorgeous, but that didn’t exactly help her career boom.  

Born on February 4, 1907, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Gwili’s real name was Gurli Ingeborg Anderson. Gwili herself pronounced her professional name "jee-lee on-dray." Half of her childhood was spent with her mother and two sisters after her parents divorced when she was 10. Gwili may have not been a famous actress, but she was a rather esteemed model. She began modeling in Europe in the late 1920s and then relocated to America upon marrying an American. While in the US, she continued to pose in front of the camera and was dubbed, “America’s Most Beautiful Model.” Gwili's modeling success took her to New York where she was reportedly discovered by David O. Selznick at the premiere of a Broadway show in 1930. Within a year and a half, she made her film debut in Roar of the Dragon (1932) opposite Richard Dix. The press hinted at her as another possible rival to Dietrich and Garbo. Louella Parsons wrote, “Will she become a second Garbo or will she merely become another movie actress?” 

Although her screen presence was captivating, critics referred to her performance as “lifeless.” Despite the bad reviews, RKO kept pursuing a career for her, but after making a few more pictures for them, she was down on her luck and took a four-year hiatus from acting. In the meantime, she continued to model. In 1935 she was America's top model, gracing the covers of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and other magazines. At the peak of her career, she was approximately earning what would be 25,000 dollars a year in today's money. In 1937, Gwili returned to the screen again, but after making four unsuccessful films she left again after her contract expired — and this time it was for good.  

As for her personal life, Gwili withstood two failed marriages, bouts of depression, and alcoholism. Her second marriage produced one son, Peter, but she sadly lost custody of him due to her drinking -- which deeply worsened afterward. She spent her final years living at a beachfront apartment in Venice, California, located at 2109 Ocean Front Walk. Unfortunately, it seems as though she did not overcome her struggles. In 1959, the day after her 52nd birthday, Gwili set her apartment aflame but did not die right away. She was rescued from the fire and taken to a nearby hospital, but due to the severity of her burns, she passed away a few days later. Upon her death, she was cremated at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, and her ashes were sent for burial at Søndermark Cemetery in Copenhagen, Denmark.  

 

"I had forgotten all about Gwili Andre, the beautiful model who looked so much like Greta Garbo that she was brought here for pictures, until I met her at the John Considine party. Poor Gwili was never able to do anything. She married Bill Cross and left Hollywood. She told me she is now divorced and has a four-year-old son and that she had been in her native Denmark for a year. She looks beautiful as ever, and I wonder now with the improvements in make-up and all, if she wouldn't have a chance now..."  -- Louella Parsons, February 1948.