Diana Serra Cary

Who is Diana Serra Cary?

Diana Serra Cary, best known as Baby Peggy, was one of the three major American child stars of the Hollywood silent movie era along with Jackie Coogan and Baby Marie. Between 1921 and 1923 she made over 150 shorts for Century Studios. In 1922 she received over 1.2 million fan letters and by 1924, she had been dubbed "The Million Dollar Baby" for her $1.5 million a year salary. Despite her childhood fame and wealth, she found herself poor and working as an extra by the 1930s.

Having an interest in both writing and history since her youth, Cary found a second career as an author and silent film historian in her later years under the name Diana Serra Cary. She is also the author of several books and has become an advocate for child actors rights.

Along with Lupita Tovar, Jean Darling, and Carla Laemmle, Cary is one of the few surviving actors of the silent film era.