Americas sweetheart. And a ground-breaking woman. In 1916, she became the first woman in Hollywood to sign a one million dollar contract, which also gave her artistic control over her films.
In 1919, she helped change the face of the industry when she and husband Douglas Fairbanks teamed with Charlie Chaplin and DW Griffith to form United Artists. She was now producing and starring in her own films. Problems with the front office? She WAS the front office. It was a level of independence rare for a man, but unheard of for a woman.
