Chili Bouchier

Who was Chili Bouchier?

Chili Bouchier, later known as Dorothy Bouchier, was a British film actress who achieved success during the silent film era, and went on to many screen appearances with the advent of sound films, before progressing to theatre later in her career.

She made her first appearance as a child dancer at a charity performance. She became a typist on leaving school and later a model at Harrod's. Her first appearance was as a bathing belle in Shooting Stars. Bouchier won a contest run by the Daily Mail in 1927 to become a film star. In 1928, she appeared in a short film made in the DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process, Ain't She Sweet, with Dick Henderson.

She combined her film career with a great deal of stage work in the U.K. From 1950 onwards most of her appearances were on stage in dramas, comedies and revues where she continued to work until well into her eighties.

She was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1996 when she was surprised by Michael Aspel at a book signing session at Harrods.

She died three days short of her ninetieth birthday in Marylebone, London.

In 1996, Chili Bouchier published her autobiography Shooting Star.