Barbara Kent

Barbara Kent (nee Cloutman) (December 16, 1907 – October 13, 2011) was a Canadian-born, North American-based film actress, prominent from the silent film era to the early talkies of the 1920s and '30s and former Miss Hollywood (in 1925).

Career

Born as Barbara Cloutman in Gadsby, Alberta, to Jullion Curtis and Lily Louise (née Kent) Cloutman, she won the 21-year-old Miss Hollywood Pageant in 1925, the same year she graduated from Hollywood High School.

She began her Hollywood career in 1925, aged 18, in a small role for Universal Studios, which signed her to a contract that year. A brunette who stood less than five feet tall, Kent became popular as a comedienne opposite such stars as Reginald Denny. She made a strong impression as the heroine pitted against Greta Garbo's femme fatale in Flesh and the Devil in 1926 after Universal had loaned Kent to MGM to make the film. She attracted attention in the 1927 film No Man's Law by appearing to swim nude. She wore a flesh-coloured moleskin bathing suit in scenes that were considered very daring at the time. The popularity of this film led to her selection as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars for 1927. She made a smooth transition into talking pictures opposite Harold Lloyd in the comedy Welcome Danger (1929). Kent was also featured with Lloyd in his iconic Feet First. Over the next few years, she remained popular and received critical praise for her role in the 1933 film version of Oliver Twist.