Nora Dorothy Bernard (June 25, 1890 – December 15, 1955) was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in nearly 90 films between 1908 and 1956.
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Early years
She was born Nora Dorothy Bernard in Port Elizabeth, British Cape Colony, now part of South Africa, to William H Bernard and Roy Elizabeth Ayrd. Her father was from Auckland, New Zealand, and her mother was born in Sligo, Ireland. (Bernard said that her father "was English and partly Jewish" and her mother was Scotch-Irish.) They were there as part of a visiting stock theater company. Her grandfather was Joseph Bernard Simmons, drama critic for The Times of London.
Although her birth date is listed as July 25, 1890 in many biographies, her death certificate and U.S. passport both state her birth date as June 25, 1890. An only child, she spent her formative years in Portland, Oregon where her father worked as a stock company manager and was a well-respected actor. She said, "I spent some of my early childhood in Australia and New Zealand and was educated in San Francisco and Los Angeles." She graduated from the Marlborough School in Los Angeles.
Career
As a child actress, Bernard appeared in several plays in Portland under "Dot Bernard" in the Baker Theater Company. Her stepmother, actress Nan Ramsey, also appeared in several productions. In 1905, her family moved to Los Angeles, California, and her father accepted a position to manage the Belasco Theater.