[1] Born Leora Theresa Spellmeyer in Bonne Terre, Missouri, she began singing on stage as a child, and as a young lady began working in vaudeville where she met and married fellow performer Charles Middleton in 1908.

Using the stage name Laura Spellman, she worked primarily in live theatre, as did her husband, but in 1920 they made their silent film debut together in "Wits vs.

Her husband eventually built a very successful career as a character actor in film, notably as "Emperor Ming" in the Flash Gordon serials.

The 1900 US Federal Census indicates age 12, with a birth month and year of July 1887, on an information sheet dated June 11, 1900.

You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.This article about a United States film actor born in the 1890s is a stub.