A Child Playing Dress Up
Today, the name Lucille Ricksen is largely unknown to most people. However, in the early 1920s, her face appeared everywhere. Hollywood touted her as the newest rising star, and maybe she would have been, if the very industry that let her shine hadn’t worked her to the point where she couldn’t go on, snuffing out her light far too soon.
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1. She Didn’t Exist
In 1910, Lucille Ricksen did not exist. Instead, Dutch immigrants Samuel and Ingeborg Nielsen Ericksen welcomed their second child into the world, naming her Ingeborg Myrtle Elisabeth Ericksen. Few know much about Ricksen’s background or her parents. However, they must’ve been suffering when their children provided them with the perfect escape.
File:Lucille Ricksen picplay1023.jpg
Picture-Play Magazine, Wikimedia Commons
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2. Her Parents Needed Her
Immigrants struggling to rebuild in a new land fill history. Perhaps in this desperation, her parents saw an opportunity to use what they’d been given. Ricksen started her career before she could understand it, working as an underpaid “baby model”. Her elder brother, Marshall, had a similar start. However, Marshall did not see the success that Ricksen did. He was lucky.
File:Lucille Ricksen – May 1920 EH.jpg
Unknown photographer, Wikimedia Commons
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3. She Was Forced Onto A Path
While Lucille Ricksen may not have opposed the path that her life took initially, she never made the choice to step onto that road. Only through her parents’ urging did Ricksen carry on her career to the next level, moving from underpaid baby model to a bona fide professional, all while she was barely out of diapers.
File:Lucille Ricksen, silent film actress (SAYRE 8448).jpg
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
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4. She Transformed Too Young
In 1910, Ingeborg Myrtle Elisabeth Erickson entered the world. Around 1914, Lucille Ricksen, a professional model and actress, replaced her. Only four years old, Ricksen began to rise in fame, providing her possibly impoverished parents with a steady revenue stream. The draw of money is understandably addictive, but what cost can a parent ask a child to pay?
File:Lucille Ricksen – Jun 1920 EH.jpg
Goldwyn Pictures Corporation, Wikimedia Commons
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5. She Tore Her Family Apart
The unorthodox lifestyle that the Ericksons lived could not survive. By the time Lucille Ricksen turned 8, her parents had separated. Some sources suggest that Ricksen’s growing career had soured her parents’ relationships, some theorizing that Samuel may have even feared for his daughter’s future. Even if true, the divorce did little to help Ricksen.
File:Lucille Ricksen pictureplay.jpg
Picture-Play Magazine, Wikimedia Commons
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6. She Was Left In Her Mother’s Hands
Following the divorce, their mother, Ingeborg, appeared to gain custody of Ricksen and her brother, an unsurprising turn of events in an era when they saw “childrearing” as a woman’s duty, not a man’s. However, perhaps Ricksen and Marshall might’ve fared better under their father than they did under Ingeborg’s care.
File:Lucille Ricksen pictureplay0123.jpg
Picture Play Magazine, Wikimedia Commons
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7. She Became The Breadwinner
Before the divorce, both Lucille Ricksen and her brother appeared in several modeling and movie roles, providing a revenue source for their parents. Following the divorce, reports suggest that Ingeborg began to view her daughter, the more successful of the two, as the primary source of family income.
As soon as she saw an opportunity to capitalize on this, she took it, regardless of what it meant for her young daughter.
File:Kindersterretje Lucille Ricksen poseert lachend, SFA022816281.jpg
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
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8. She Made A Career Move
Ricksen appeared in her first film, The Millionaire Baby, at the age of five. Perhaps this drew the attention of Hollywood producer Samuel Goldwyn. Ingeborg relocated her young family to Hollywood at Goldwyn’s suggestion, likely knowing he already had an opportunity for Ricksen in mind.
File:Lucille Ricksen starso1924.jpg
Stars of the Photoplay, Wikimedia Commons
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9. She Was Cast Immediately
Lucille Ricksen, along with her mother and brother, arrived in Hollywood in 1920, and she appeared in her first Hollywood film that same year. Now roughly 10 or 11 years old, Goldwyn signed Ricksen to star opposite fellow child star Edward Peil Jr in a series of short silent films.
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