Violet Hopson(1887-1973)

Violet Hopson born Elma Kate Victoria Karkeek in Port August, Australia in 1891, her earliest performances were with the Pollard Opera Company in Australia and New Zealand from 1898 to 1900. Arrived in the US in the early 1900's with her older sister Zoe and became popular in drama theatre, a few years later Violet worked in the British theatre's appearing in drama and comedy. Although Australian by birth she would become a star of English films and would in fact epitomize the typically demure English heroine, her first movie was with the Cricks and Martin Film Company in 'Mr. Tubby's Triumph' a comedy directed by David Aylott and co-starring Johnny Butt in 1910. Became highly well-known as Hepworth's 'Dear Delightful Villianess' a brunette beauty in melodramas and comedies as 'The Vicar of Wakefield' in 1913, 'Barnaby Rudge' in 1915 and 'A Daughter of Eve' in 1919. Her career suffered slightly following the end of her marriage to actor Alec Worcester also known by his stage name Alexander Worster whom she married in Luton in 1909 the divorce in 1919 was on the ground's of his adultery and desertion, they had two children Nicholas born in 1910 and Jessica born in 1913. She became the first actress in England to be head her own production film company with producer/director Walter West after her divorce and in the early 1920's she occasionally played cockney waif in such films as 'Vi of Smith's Alley' (1921) and also excelled in portraying high class ladies as in 'Beautiful Kitty' (1923) and 'The Great Turf Mystery' (1924). With the rise of the talkies her career came to an end only appearing in minor roles until her last 'One Precious Year' in 1933. She died on the 21th July 1973 in Princess Louise Hospital, Kensington, London, the records naming her as Elma Kate Worster, she was cremated in Kensal Green Crematorium