Dressler, Marie, 1869–1934, American actress, b. Coburg, Ont., Canada. She appeared on stage and in vaudeville before making her first film, Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914). Although she gained fame as a large, good-natured comedienne, she gave a strong performance as a disreputable old alcoholic in Anna Christie (1930). Her other films include Min and Bill (1931), Tugboat Annie (1932), and Dinner at Eight (1933).

Dressler, Marie

orig. Leila Marie Koerber

(born Nov. 9, 1868, Cobourg, Ont., Can.—died July 28, 1934, Santa Barbara, Calif., U.S.) Canadian-U.S. actress. She began her acting career as a vaudeville comedian and made her film debut in Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914), in which Charlie Chaplin also appeared. After a period of obscurity, she experienced a career revival with the coming of sound films. In the 1930s she was known for her portrayals of self-sufficient, humorous old women (often costarring with Wallace Beery) in films such as Min and Bill (1931, Academy Award) and Tugboat Annie (1933).

Dressler, Marie (b. Leila Koerber) (1869–1934) stage/film actress; born in Coburg, Canada. This versatile comic actress begin her career at age 14 with a touring theatrical company, and for many years she performed in vaudeville, plays, and musical productions, enjoying her greatest success with the song, "Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl." In 1910, she began a film career that went from Mack Sennett comedies—including Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914) with Chaplin—to Anna Christie (1930) and Min and Bill (1931), for which she won an Oscar. Never very attractive and always on the plump side, she ended up as one of the most popular film stars of her day.