Early Life
Born Florence Annie Bridgwood in Hamilton, Ontario, she was the child of Charlotte A. Bridgwood, a vaudeville actress known professionally as Lotta Lawrence, who was the leading lady and director of the Lawrence Dramatic Company. Her father was George Bridgwood (born Stafforshire, England; died 1898, Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada). Florence's surname was changed at age four to her mother's stage name. After her father's death, Florence, her mother and two older brothers moved from Hamilton, Ontario to Buffalo, New York. Florence attended local schools and developed athletic skills, in particular horseback riding and ice-skating.
After graduating from school, Lawrence joined her mother's dramatic company. However, the company disbanded after a series of disputes made it impossible for the members to continue working together. Lawrence and her mother moved to New York City around 1906.
Read more about this topic: Florence Lawrence
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or life:
“The shift from the perception of the child as innocent to the perception of the child as competent has greatly increased the demands on contemporary children for maturity, for participating in competitive sports, for early academic achievement, and for protecting themselves against adults who might do them harm. While children might be able to cope with any one of those demands taken singly, taken together they often exceed children’s adaptive capacity.”
—David Elkind (20th century)
“Yet now farewell, and farewell life with thee!”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)