Marilyn Knowlden, the prolific child actress who appeared in six Best Picture-nominated films during Hollywood’s Golden Age, died on September 9, 2025, at an assisted living facility in Eagle, Idaho. She was 99 years old.
Knowlden’s son Kevin Goates confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that his mother died of natural causes. The actress had been residing at the facility in her final years.
During her brief but remarkably successful career spanning 1931 to 1944, Knowlden appeared in more than three dozen films, working alongside some of Hollywood’s most celebrated stars. She collaborated with Claudette Colbert, Katharine Hepburn, Irene Dunne, and Norma Shearer, who portrayed her onscreen mothers in “Imitation of Life” (1934), “A Woman Rebels” (1936), “Show Boat” (1936), and “Marie Antoinette” (1938), respectively.
Her impressive filmography included appearances in six Academy Award Best Picture nominees: “Little Women” (1933), “Imitation of Life” (1934), “Les Misérables” (1935), “David Copperfield” (1935), “Anthony Adverse” (1936), and “All This, and Heaven Too” (1940). Although none of these films won the top Oscar, they represented some of the most prestigious productions of the era.
In George Cukor’s “David Copperfield,” Knowlden portrayed Lewis Stone’s piano-playing daughter alongside Freddie Bartholomew. She also appeared in Mervyn LeRoy’s “Anthony Adverse,” starring Fredric March and Olivia de Havilland, and Anatole Litvak’s “All This, and Heaven Too,” featuring Bette Davis and Charles Boyer.
Another notable role included playing a younger version of Ann Sheridan’s character in Michael Curtiz’s “Angels With Dirty Faces” (1938), which starred James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart. She also appeared in two films with Shirley Temple: “As the Earth Turns” (1934) and “Just Around the Corner” (1938).
Born on May 12, 1926, in Oakland, California, Knowlden was an only child whose Hollywood career began by chance. When her father, San Francisco attorney Robert Knowlden Jr., took a business trip to Hollywood in 1931, he brought his wife Bertha and young Marilyn along. Her local acting teacher in Oakland had previously suggested she should pursue movies.
On their second day in Hollywood, her father contacted studios and secured an interview with Paramount head of casting Fred Datig. Initially considered too young for the role of Paul Lukas’ and Eleanor Boardman’s daughter in “Women Love Once” (1931), Knowlden impressed casting directors with her ability to memorize extensive dialogue. Boardman herself preferred a younger actress for the part, not wanting audiences to think she was old enough to have an older child.
Knowlden was hired the next day, launching what would become a remarkable career. Hours after learning she got the job, she was involved in a car accident in front of the Vitaphone Studios lot in Los Feliz. Actress Dolores Costello, wife of John Barrymore, was on the scene and escorted the young actress to her dressing room. While Knowlden suffered only bruises, her mother sustained three broken ribs and a broken collarbone.
Unlike many child actors of her era, Knowlden never worked under studio contract. Her father maintained control of her career and preferred the freelance arrangement. He indicated this approach allowed her to avoid studio schools and maintain a more normal life outside of filming.
The actress developed special relationships with her leading ladies. Working with Hepburn in “A Woman Rebels,” she used a bow and arrow in one scene. Hepburn promised her a dollar if she could hit a bull’s-eye and later signed an autograph that read, “To Marilyn — Hoping that her archery improves. Affectionately, Katharine Hepburn.”
During production of “Women Love Once,” director Edward Goodman took Knowlden to visit The Marx Brothers on another soundstage while they worked on “Monkey Business” (1931). She played a piano duet with Chico Marx, who instructed her to play specific notes when he nodded.
At the height of her popularity, toy manufacturers created a doll in Knowlden’s likeness. By the end of her career, she rarely had to audition for roles, as casting directors already considered her seriously for parts.
One role that eluded her was in “Gone With the Wind” (1939). She was considered for the part of Carreen, Scarlett O’Hara’s youngest sister, but ultimately lost the role to Ann Rutherford. Her final feature film was “Broadway Rhythm” (1944).
After her film career ended, Knowlden graduated from Beverly Hills High School in 1943 and received a scholarship to Mills College in Oakland. In 1946, she married serviceman Richard Goates and traveled with him to China and Japan, where she worked for the Armed Forces Radio Service. She wrote music, lyrics, and scripts for several musicals before returning to stage acting in San Diego County productions.
In 2011, she published her autobiography, “Little Girl in Big Pictures.” Knowlden is survived by her daughter Carolyn, sons Kevin and Brian, three grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren. A private funeral was held on September 27 in Idaho.
