During the 1920's Olive Borden was one of Hollywood's most popular stars but by the age of forty-one she was penniless and forgotten. Olive was born on July 14, 1906, in Norfolk, Virginia. Tragically her father died when she was just fourteen months old. Her widowed mother, Sibbie Shields Borden, moved to Mt. Washington, Maryland where she managed a restaurant. Olive was an only child (an older brother had died before she was born) and she had a very close relationship with her mother. When Olive was a teenager she attended Mount St. Agnes Academy, a Catholic boarding school in Baltimore. She was very ambitious and dreamed of becoming an actress. In 1922 she persuaded Sibbie to take her to Hollywood. Two days after arriving Olive got a job as an extra at Christie Studios. She was devastated when the director fired her because he didn't like the way she looked. Sibbie and Olive decided to open a candy store near UCLA. When it closed six months later they were nearly broke. Luckily Olive caught the eye of a casting director and became one of Mack Sennett's bathing beauties. In 1923 she made her film debut with an uncredited role in Ponjola. Olive was offered a contract with Hal Roach and appeared in a series of short films. Producer Paul Bern gave her a featured part in the 1925 comedy The Dressmaker From Paris. She and Paul dated for a few months. Olive signed a five year contract with Fox in December 1925. Her big break came when she was cast opposite Tom Mix in The Yankee Senor. The movie was a hit and made Olive a star. In 1926 director John Ford gave her the female lead in his western Three Bad Men.
She started a serious romance with her costar George O'Brien. Olive and George worked together again in the 1926 comedy Fig Leaves. The press often reported that the couple was engaged. Olive appeared in a string of successful silent films including Yellow Fingers, The Joy Girl, and Come To My House. She was a gifted comedienne and was usually cast as a vamp. Olive was considered one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood and her long, black hair became her trademark. At the peak of her career she earned $1,500 a week. Unfortunately Olive spent her money as fast as she made it. She lived with her mother in a lavish Beverly Hills mansion. Olive had a maid travel with her everywhere and she had a limousine standing by twenty-four hours a day. Although she was one of their biggest stars Fox cut her salary in November 1927. The studio claimed she was "temperamental". She walked out on her contract and took a six month break from acting. Olive could no longer afford her extravagant lifestyle so she moved to a small house in Malibu. She was still in demand as an actress and she signed a lucrative contract with Columbia in May 1928. Olive was given starring roles in big budget movies like The Eternal Woman and Virgin Lips. Her southern accent made it difficult for her to make the transition to sound films. She tried to change her image by cutting off her long hair and playing flappers. After Columbia dropped her contract she worked at RKO and First National studios. She costarred with Arthur Lake in Dance Hall and with Jack Oakie in The Social Lion.
Olive was heartbroken when George O'Brien ended their four year relationship in 1930. She had a reputation as a party girl and George's conservative family did not like her. Olive's star was fading and she was having trouble finding work in Hollywood. She was only twenty-four years old but she was already considered a has-been. Olive moved to New York City where she appeared in several unsuccessful plays. She was able to make a living performing in vaudeville. Olive eloped with Theodore "Teddy" Spector on March 23, 1931. Teddy was a thirty year old stockbroker from New Jersey. He would later claim that he only married Olive because she threatened to jump off the roof of a building. They separated in early 1932 because he wanted her to quit acting. Olive filed for divorce and was shocked to learn that Teddy was still legally married to his first wife. He was arrested for bigamy but the charges were dropped. On November 21, 1932 Olive's marriage to Teddy was annulled. Her last movie was the 1934 drama Chloe, Love Is Calling. She had a brief relationship with the film's director Marshall Neilan. Olive married John Moeller, an electrician, in 1934. The couple lived with John's father in a three room apartment on Long Island. Olive wanted to become a mother but she was unable to have children. Her marriage to John ended in 1941. Olive's fortune was gone and she was forced to file for bankruptcy. She also had a serious drinking problem. During World War 2 she worked as a nurse's aid and drove an ambulance. In November 1942 she joined the Womens Auxiliary Army Corps.
She was sent to Fort Des Moines in Iowa where she worked at the WAAC training center. Her salary was just $12.50 a week. Olive tried to make a comeback in Hollywood but she could not get any acting jobs. She had gained weight and was in poor health. Olive worked at numerous low paying jobs. In 1945 she moved into the Sunshine Mission, a home for destitute women in the skid row section of Los Angeles. Her mother, Sibbie, worked in the commissary. Olive claimed she had become a born again Christian and devoted herself to helping the children at the mission. She spent her days scrubbing floors and answering phones. Her final acting performance was in the mission's 1946 Christmas pageant. During the Spring of 1947 Olive ran away. Sibbie found her three months later living in a cheap motel. Olive returned to the mission but she was very sick. Sadly she died on October 1, 1947, from complications due to a stomach ailment and pneumonia. Olive was only forty-one years old. Her funeral was held on October 4 at the Sunshine Mission. Director John Boland and actor Cornelius Keefe were among the mourners. The small church was filled with flowers and Olive held an orchid her hand. She was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. Her mother said "Ollie died among people who really loved her and idealized her. She was happy". Sibbie died on November 20, 1959 at age seventy-five. Olive was a talented actress who learned how fleeting fame can be. She was a kind woman who never found true happiness in her life. Her story is one of Hollywood's most tragic tales.
