Elsie Jane Wilson (7 November 1885 – 16 January 1965) was a cinema actress, director, and writer during the early film era.

She credited her success to participating in the English Christmas Pantomime every year, allowing her to gain training and experience for the pictures.

They immigrated to New York, United States in 1913[7] and eventually found work as actors in Hollywood under Joseph de Grasse.

Wilson notes that she and her husband had different ideas while sharing the appreciation for the same pictures, making it difficult for them to discuss work.

According to the reviews of the day, Wilson was a modest filmmaker, being best appreciated for eliciting good performances from otherwise indifferent talent.

Elsie Jane Wilson's case exemplifies how genre and gender, up until 1918,worked together to establish the institution's division of labor.

During the same time period, the Board of Health shut down many Los Angeles restaurants due to an influenza epidemic leaving cabaret showgirls out of work.

[12] In February 1918, Frances Denton wrote a story for Photoplay that addressed the normative femininity subordinate women in the name of equality.

Much of Wilson's personal work has been destroyed over the century though her efforts have not gone unnoticed by the “Women Film Pioneers Project” and various other cinematic references from the times.