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American History

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GreatGazoo

(4,214 posts)
Mon Sep 29, 2025, 09:01 PM Sep 29

1916 - at Age 24, Mary Pickford Becomes the First Woman in the World to Earn Over $1-Million per Year [View all]

Mary Pickford was the first woman in the world to earn over $1-million per year (adjusted for inflation: $32-mil now). She was born in 1892 in a slum in Toronto called "the ward." After her father dies of alcoholism she goes to work at age 7.

Within a few years she was working 12-hours a day. In 1909 she made 51 films. She negotiated aggressively and got double the going rate. Then she made producers and studios bid against each other and her rate went even higher. Four years later, at age 21, she reached a level that was previously unknown, one biographer called it "orbit."

Silent films exported easily because they did not rely on dialog. The outbreak of WW1 crushed film production in Europe amid exponential year-over-year growth in the business. US production increased to fill the gap and the fever pitch of growth and greed quickly drove investment and revenues to unexpected heights. By 1916 Pickford had 17-years of solid experience as an actress but what really made her unique was her inside-out understanding of the business. She was the second most well known personality in the world (Chaplin was #1). Unlike many others with similar humble origins and work ethic, Pickford leveraged her box office draw to go from 'orbit' to hyperspace:

"On June 24, 1916, Pickford signed a new contract with Zukor that granted her full authority over production of the films in which she starred and a record-breaking salary of $10,000 a week. In addition Pickford demanded half of every one of her film's profits, with a guarantee of $1.04 million."


In 1918, Zukor tried to crush her. They wanted her out of the business altogether so that they could bring in cheaper talent and not have to compete with Pickford's fame. She was offered $250,000 to walk away from filmmaking forever. Pickford's response was to form United Artists with DW Griffith and Charlie Chaplin. She ran that business and had the most to lose since, unlike Pickford, Chaplin was in no danger of aging out of the roles he played. Griffith dropped out in 1924.

In 1955 with most studios clearly in decline, Chaplin sold his share in UA for $1.1 million -- Pickford sold hers for $3-million.
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