William C. de Mille

Born to a noble family of playwrights and artists, Cecil B. DeMille and his brother, William Churchill DeMille, brought grandeur to the stage with their theatrical works. Cecil, too young to enlist in the Spanish-American War, followed his brother to the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts and made his stage debut in 1900. He formed the Lasky Film Company, which evolved into Paramount Pictures, with Jesse L. Lasky and Samuel Goldwyn in 1913. His mother, Beatrice DeMille, supported the family by opening a school for girls and a theatrical company, while his brother, William, was a playwright who had six plays produced on Broadway. Cecil's lovely wife, Constance Adams, discovered a young Katherine DeMille who was placed in a Los Angeles orphanage; Katherine was legally adopted by the DeMilles in 1926. As a family, their creative prowess and strong bonds brought them to the forefront of Hollywood royalty.