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Katherine DeMille, a dark and exotic beauty, captivated audiences in the 1930s and 1940s with her screen presence. Born in Canada to Edward Gabriel Lester, a Scottish schoolteacher, and his Italian-Swiss wife, Cecile Bianca Bertha (Colani) Lester, her early life was marked by tragedy. Her father died in France during World War I, and her terminally ill mother traveled to California seeking Katherine's paternal grandparents to care for her. Before she could make contact, Mrs. Lester passed away, leaving Katherine in a Los Angeles orphanage. Constance Adams, wife of renowned filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille and a director at the orphanage, was moved by Katherine's plight and, along with her husband, decided to adopt her. Katherine joined a family that included the DeMilles’ biological daughter Cecilia, adopted son John de Mille, and Richard de Mille, Cecil's nephew.
Katherine attended the Hollywood School for Girls and the Santa Barbara School for Girls, where she enjoyed acting in school plays. She began working as a movie extra under the name Kay Marsh. Recognizing her aspirations, Cecil B. DeMille employed her as a script supervisor on his film Four Frightened People (1934), allowing her to observe film sets and editing. Secretly, she auditioned for the role of Rosita Morales, Pancho Villa’s wife, in MGM’s Viva Villa! (1934), starring Wallace Beery, and won the part, impressing critics with her performance and beauty. Her role as a Mexican maid in The Trumpet Blows (1934) earned her a contract with Paramount Pictures, where she played the villain in Mae West’s Belle of the Nineties (1934). Proving her ability to succeed independently, she earned her father’s respect and a featured role in his epic The Crusades (1935), portraying Alice, Princess of France, competing for Richard the Lionheart’s affections alongside Loretta Young’s Berengaria. Critics praised her talent and appearance in the lavish production, signaling her rising career.
Following her success in The Crusades, Katherine was promoted to leading lady. Paramount cast her in Drift Fence (1936) and Sky Parade (1936), and she appeared uncredited as Rosaline, Romeo’s first love, in MGM’s Romeo and Juliet (1936). 20th Century-Fox gave her a supporting role in Banjo on My Knee (1936) and second billing in Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937). In 1937, she married Mexican actor Anthony Quinn. That year, she was third billed in The Californian and appeared in the Spanish Civil War drama Love Under Fire. At Columbia Pictures, she earned second billing in Under Suspicion (1937) with Jack Holt. She then had a minor role in another Spanish Civil War film, Blockade (1938), and starred in the Jack Holt vehicle Trapped in the Sky (1939). Despite her talents, major studios did not offer her prominent roles, leading to parts in B movies such as In Old Caliente (1939), Isle of Destiny (1940), Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940), and Dark Streets of Cairo (1940). She returned to Paramount for the Technicolor film Aloma of the South Seas (1941).
Katherine and Anthony Quinn had five children. She left her acting career following the death of their first child, Christopher, in 1941. She later returned to the screen with leading roles in Black Gold (1947), co-starring her husband, and a supporting part as a Native American woman in her father’s Unconquered (1947). She also appeared in the film noir The Judge (1949). The couple divorced in 1965. Katherine eventually relocated to Tucson, Arizona, where she passed away from Alzheimer's disease in 1995.
