LOVELY LOUISE

The real-life Louise Brooks, played with aplomb in The Chaperone by 24-year-old Haley Lu Richardson, had it all – talent, ambition and truckloads of sex appeal. Not to mention, of course, her iconic black bob hairdo, copied by thousands of women in the 1920s as the latest thing. After being talent-spotted and brought to New York to join the Denishawn Dance Company, Brooks went on to make some 25 films (17 of them silent) but her headstrong attitude often put her at odds with film industry heavyweights of the day and she was informally ‘blacklisted’. After alleged affairs with many Hollywood names including Charlie Chaplin and Greta Garbo, she retired from acting in 1938 at the age of 32.