Hollywood knew her as the “Goddess of the Silent Screen,” but Dolores Costello Barrymore’s truest sanctuary was far from the studio lights—in the peaceful avocado groves of Fallbrook.

Born Sept. 17, 1903, in Pittsburgh to actors Maurice and Mae Costello, Dolores became a child actress in the 1910s, appearing alongside her father. By the 1920s, she was celebrated for her beauty and screen presence, earning the WAMPAS Baby Star award in 1926.

Film fan magazines praised her ethereal quality, with Photoplay describing her as “one of the loveliest women ever to face a camera” (Photoplay, 1926) and The New York Times noting her “grace and serenity” in Old San Francisco (1927).

Dynamic Duo

In 1928, she married actor John Barrymore, forming one of Hollywood’s most high-profile couples.

Barrym

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