Born Leila Marie Koerber in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada. The daughter of a music teacher, she joined a stock company at 14 and by the time she was 20 had become a seasoned veteran in light opera and on the legitimate stage. She made it to Broadway in 1892 and became a vaudeville headliner shortly after the turn of the century. One of the nations' leading comediennes, she made her screen debut as Charlie Chaplin's co-star in TILLIE'S PUNCTURED ROMANCE (1914), an adaptation of one of her stage vehicles. She also appeared in several other film comedies of the period but remained essentially a vaudeville and musical comedy star. Her stage career suffered a severe setback in the 20s, largely because of her activity in a labor dispute, but in 1927 MGM screenwriter Frances Marion got her back into films with THE CALLAHANS AND THE MURPHYS. She quickly developed into a popular star, especially in comedies co-starring Polly Moran: BRINGING UP FATHER (1928), THE HOLLYWOOD REVUE OF 1929 and DANGEROUS FEMALES (both 1929), THE GIRL SAID NO, CHASING RAINBOWS and CAUGHT SHORT (all 1930), THE CHRISTMAS PARTY, POLITICS and REDUCING (all 1931) and PROSPERITY (1933). Her popularity increased after the advent of sound, and her screen career received an enormous boost from her surprise casting in a serious character part, as Marthy, the waterfront hag, in ANNA CHRISTIE (1930). She won the best actress Academy Award for her tragicomic performance that same year in MIN AND BILL (1930), opposite Wallace Beery. Other notable film credits include THE VAGABOND LOVER (1929), ONE ROMANTIC NIGHT and LET US BE GAY (both 1930), EMMA (1932) and DINNER AT EIGHT, TUGBOAT ANNIE and CHRISTOPHER BEAN (all 1933). A homely woman of enormous girth, she was unlikely star material, but in the early 30s she was among Hollywood's most popular personalities and for four years was the number one box-office attraction in the country. Her autobiography was candidly titled The Life Story of an Ugly Duckling.  Actress 1930-1931: MIN AND BILL  Nominated for Actress 1931-32: EMMA 2 nominations, 1 Award