Marjorie Day

Marjorie Day 1887–1940 was born in Auckland but moved to England with her parents at age eight.

She first appeared on stage at 14 and at 16 was well enough known to be photographed for a series of cigarette cards depicting “overseas actresses”. A series of appearances in West End theatres culminated in her big chance in October 1907 in George Bernard Shaw’s The Devil’s Disciple at the Savoy Theatre; the Otago Daily Times cooed proudly, “The London dramatic critics speak in complimentary terms of Miss Marjorie Day (late of Auckland) in the part of “Essie” in Bernard Shaw’s play, ‘The Devil’s Disciple,’ which was produced this week at the Savoy Theatre.”

By 1913 she was a successful leading lady in the West End and in 1915 played, with an English cast, in the USA and Canada. Marjorie Day was a redhead with “big hair” but in 1916 she was looking for work in black and white silent movies. She played in the London Film Company When Knights were bold released in May 1916. For the next few years she starred in various movies and in 1922 was in the cast of The Glorious Adventure, the first British film made in colour. She acted in nine known films.