Laura La Plante (November 1, 1904 – October 14, 1996) was an American film actress who rose to prominence during the silent film era. Known for her bright dimples, easygoing charm, and signature bleached-blonde bobbed hair, La Plante became Universal Pictures’ most popular star and highest-grossing box-office attraction in the 1920s, appearing in over 60 films during the decade. Her career began as a teenage extra to support her family, with early roles in shorts based on the Bringing Up Father comic strip (1920) and the acclaimed silent film The Old Swimmin’ Hole (1921). She built her reputation co-starring in a half-dozen Hoot Gibson Westerns before being named a WAMPAS Baby Star in 1923, which led Universal to grant her more substantial dramatic and comedic leads. For her role in the 1924 film Butterfly, she adopted a fashionable short bob and blonde dye, a quintessential ‘flapper’ style that became her trademark. La Plante successfully transitioned into the era of ‘talkies’ with early sound hybrids like The Love Trap (1929) and her first all-talking picture Hold Your Man (1929), though her voice translated beautifully to the microphone, the late-20s wave of incoming talking-picture talent began to shift the studio’s focus. She parted ways with Universal after starring in the lavish Technicolor musical King of Jazz (1930), leaving behind a legacy as one of the definitive faces of silent-era Hollywood. Her career spanned the transition from silent films to sound, and she remains a notable figure in early Hollywood history.