
Actor
Born October 31, 1877 in New York City, New York, USA
Claire McDowell (2 November 1877 – 23 October 1966) was an American actress. She appeared in 360 films between 1908 and 1945. Still somewhat of a youthful beauty when she started in early silent films, McDowell appeared in numerous films, eventually graduating to playing character and mother types. She can be seen to good advantage in Douglas Fairbanks's 1920 The Mark of Zorro. McDowell appeared in two of the biggest films of the silent era, The Big Parade (1925) and Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925), both in which she played mothers.

MGM Parade
Self

Adventure
Woman in Library (uncredited)

Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble
Dr. Standish's Servant (uncredited)

Men on Her Mind
Mother Goodwin

Du Barry Was a Lady
Subway Passenger (uncredited)

This Land Is Mine
Woman in Bathroom

Presenting Lily Mars
Dowager

Keeper of the Flame

Hangmen Also Die!
Counterwoman (uncredited)

Lady Scarface
Mrs. Tuckerman

Whispers
Gossip (uncredited)

Dr. Kildare Goes Home
Nurse for Mr. Winslow (uncredited)

The Golden Fleecing
Pedestrian (uncredited)

A Failure at Fifty
Minor Role (uncredited)

Young Tom Edison
Woman at Station

Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President
Gossiper

Thunder Afloat
Nurse (uncredited)

One Against the World
Jane Todd Crawford (uncredited)

Miracles for Sale
Jack of Diamonds Woman

Angel of Mercy
Mother (uncredited)

Idiot's Delight
Crying Mother

Stand Up and Fight
Woman

Boys Town
Nun (uncredited)

The Man on the Rock
Napoleon's Mother (uncredited)

They're Always Caught
Mrs. Fletcher (uncredited)

Three Comrades
Landlady Frau Zalewski (uncredited)

Test Pilot
Funeral Home Associate (uncredited)

A Night at the Movies
Movie Patron (uncredited)

Two-Fisted Sheriff
Miss Herrick - Molly's Aunt

Song of Revolt
Artistocratic Dowager (uncredited)

Small Town Girl
Woman in Bed (uncredited)

August Week End
Alma Washburne

Murder by Television
Mrs. Houghland

Imitation of Life
Teacher Outside Classroom (uncredited)

Two Heads on a Pillow
Mrs. Helen Gorman

British Agent
Woman Saying 'Lenin will Live' (uncredited)

Dr. Monica
Miss Bryerly (uncredited)

Journal of a Crime
Sister at Hospital (uncredited)

It Happened One Night
Mother on Bus (uncredited)

Bedside
Nurse

Wild Boys of the Road
Mrs. Smith

By Appointment Only
Mrs. Mary Carroll

The Working Man
Benjamin's Secretary

Central Airport
Mrs. Blaine

Lawyer Man
Gilmurry's Secretary (uncredited)

A Successful Calamity
Struthers' Secretary (uncredited)

The Phantom Express
Ma Nolan

Cornered
Jane's Aunt

The Strange Love of Molly Louvain
Ann Marie's Caregiver Mrs. Schiller (uncredited)

The Famous Ferguson Case
Brooks' Landlady (uncredited)

Union Depot
Little Boy's Mother (uncredited)

Under Eighteen
Seamstress (uncredited)

Manhattan Parade
Nancy - the Maid

An American Tragedy
Mrs. Samuel Griffiths

Mothers Cry
Mary's Mother

Brothers
Bess Naughton

Wild Company
Mrs. Laura Grayson

The Big House
Mrs. Marlowe

Young Desire
Mrs. Spencer

The Second Floor Mystery
Aunt Hattie

Redemption
Anna Pavlovna

The Quitter
Mrs. Abbott

Silks and Saddles
Mrs. Calhoun

The Flying Fleet
Mrs. Hastings (uncredited)

When Dreams Come True
Martha Shelby

Marriage by Contract
Mother

The Viking
Lady Editha (as Claire MacDowell)

4 Devils
Woman

The Tragedy of Youth
Mother

Almost Human
Mrs. Livingston

The Shield of Honor
Mrs. MacDowell

Tillie the Toiler
Ma Jones

The Black Diamond Express
Martha Foster

The Taxi Dancer
Aunt Mary

The Auctioneer
Mrs. Tim Eagan

A Little Journey
Aunt Louise

The Flaming Forest
Mrs. McTavish

The Show Off
Mom Fisher

The Unknown Soldier
John Phillips' sister

The Shamrock Handicap
Molly O'Shea

The Dixie Merchant
Josephine Fippany

The Devil's Circus
Mrs. Peterson

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Princess of Hur

The Midnight Flyer
Liza Slater

The Big Parade
Mrs. Apperson

The Tower of Lies
Katrina

Dollar Down
Mrs. Meadows

The End of the World
Mrs. Joyce

Waking Up the Town
Mrs. Joyce

Those Who Dare
Mrs. Rollins

Secrets
Elizabeth Channing

Thy Name Is Woman
Juan's Mother

Judgment of the Storm
Mrs. Heath

Black Oxen
Agnes Trevor

Enemies of Children
Godfrey sister

Ponjola
Mrs. Hope

Ashes of Vengeance
Margot's Aunt

Circus Days
Martha

Human Wreckage
Mrs. Brown

Michael O'Halloran
Nancy Harding

The West~Bound Limited
Mrs. Bill Buckley

Quincy Adams Sawyer
Mrs. Putnam

Heart's Haven
May Caroline

Nice People
Margaret Rainsford

The Ragged Heiress
Sylvia Moreton

Penrod
Mrs. Schofield

Rent Free
Countess de Mourney

Love Never Dies
Liz Trott

Wealth
Mrs. Dominick

Mother o' Mine
Mrs. Sheldon

What Every Woman Knows
Comtesse de la Brière

Midsummer Madness
Mrs. Osborne

Prisoners of Love
Her Mother

The Mark of Zorro
Dona Catalina Pulido

Something to Think About
Housekeeper

The Jack-Knife Man
Lize Merdin

Through Eyes of Men
Mrs. Virginia All

The Gift Supreme
Lalia Graun

Blind Youth
Elizabeth Monnier

The Devil's Riddle
Mrs. Potts

The Woman in the Suitcase
Mrs. James B. Moreland

The Feud
Mary Lynch

Heart o' the Hills
Martha Hawn

Chasing Rainbows
Mrs. Walters

Prudence on Broadway
Miss Grayson

The Follies Girl
Nina

The Return of Mary
Mrs. John Denby Sr.

You Can't Believe Everything
Grace Dardley

Captain of His Soul
Annette

The Storm Woman

The Clean-Up
Vera Vincent

The Bronze Bride
A-Che-Chee

The Gates of Doom
Indore / Agatha

The White Raven
Daisy

The Right to Be Happy
Mrs. Cratchit

Mixed Blood
Nita Valyez

A Stranger from Somewhere
Olga

The Canceled Mortgage
The Widowed Mother

The Heart of a Bandit
Claire

Men and Women
Mrs. Stephen Rodman

Her Father's Silent Partner

Concentration
The Mother

The House of Discord
The Sister-in-Law

The Strong Man's Burden
Ida Glynn, The Nurse

The Switchtower
The Switchman's Wife

Olaf—An Atom
A Parent

The House of Darkness
The Doctor's Wife

The Tenderfoot's Money
The Prospector's Wife

The Wanderer
The Female Lover

The Unwelcome Guest
The Wife

The Telephone Girl and the Lady
The Lady

A Cry for Help
The Thief's Wife - the Charity Patient

The Massacre
Stephen's Belle - In Prologue

The New York Hat
The Main Gossip

A Sailor’s Heart
The Sailor's Third Sweetheart

In the Aisles of the Wild
The Elder Daughter

So Near, Yet So Far
Rich Woman in Other Town

Two Daughters of Eve
The Mother

Man's Genesis
Cave Woman

The School Teacher and the Waif
The Street Fakir's Sweetheart

Lena and the Geese
Lena's Mother

A Temporary Truce
Mexican Jim's Wife

The Old Actor
At Audition

The Female of the Species
The Miner's Wife

A String of Pearls
The Italian Shoemaker's Wife

The Sunbeam
The Spinster

The Sands of Dee
Artist's fiancee

Under Burning Skies
The Friend

Billy's Stratagem
Billy's Mother

The Baby and the Stork
The Mother

A Woman Scorned
The Doctor's Wife

The Long Road
Ned's Wife

The Adventures of Billy
Rich Woman

The Squaw's Love
Silver Fawn

Swords and Hearts
Irene Lambert

A Country Cupid
The Half-Wit's Mother

The Primal Call
The Woman

The Manicure Lady
Lunchroom Hostess

Fisher Folks
At Fair

What Shall We Do with Our Old?
The Old Carpenter's Wife

Fate's Turning
At Hotel/At Wedding

His Trust Fulfilled
Mrs. Frazier

His Trust
Col. Frazier's wife

The Golden Supper
Lady-in-Waiting

Waiter No. 5
The Chief of Police's Wife

Rose o' Salem Town

The Oath and the Man
Rebel

Muggsy Becomes a Hero
One of the Sisters Frost

Wilful Peggy
Housemaid

The Usurer
Despairing Mother / One of the Third Debtors

A Flash of Light
At First Party

Love Among the Roses

The Call of the Wild
Party Guest

The Planter's Wife
Mrs. John Holland

The Devil