Marilyn Knowlden

Marilyn Knowlden, a poised and prolific child actress of Hollywood's 1930s studio era whose work included six Best Picture nominees, died September 15, 2025, at an assisted living facility in Eagle, Idaho. She was 99.

Born May 12, 1926, in Oakland, California, Knowlden began appearing in films at age four and quickly became a dependable presence across major studios.

Her credits spanned classics and crowd-pleasers: an early appearance in "Little Women" (1933); key childhood roles in "Imitation of Life" (1934) and "Les Misérables" (1935); and turns in "David Copperfield" (1935), "Anthony Adverse" (1936), "Angels with Dirty Faces" (1938), and "All This, and Heaven Too" (1940). Six of the films in which she appeared were nominated for Academy Awards for Best Picture.

Unlike many contemporaries, Knowlden freelanced rather than signing a long studio contract, moving nimbly among productions and co-stars including Katharine Hepburn, Claudette Colbert, James Cagney, Fredric March, and Bette Davis.

She stepped away from movies as she reached adulthood but remained creative for decades, writing music and plays and eventually publishing her 2011 memoir, "Little Girl in Big Pictures."

Knowlden married Army Capt. Richard Goates in 1946; they later divorced. In 1978, she married Eliseo Busnardo, who died in 2010. She is survived by three children, along with four grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren.

A funeral service was held September 27, 2025, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Eagle, with a livestream provided for family and friends.

By Legacy News Staff

(Image: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/De Carvalho Collection/Getty Images)