Dame Florence Lilian Braithwaite (9 March 1873 – 17 September 1948) was an English actress, primarily of the stage, although she appeared in both silent and talkie films.

[1] Educated at Croydon High School, she was the eldest of seven children, having five brothers, two of whom—Colonel Francis Powell Braithwaite and Vice-Admiral Lawrence Walter Braithwaite—served with distinction in the military.

Lilian Braithwaite first acted with amateur companies including the Strolling Players and the Oxford University Dramatic Society, but her decision to turn professional was met with strong opposition from her parents.

However, in 1897 at the age of 24, she joined the William Haviland and Gerald Lawrence Shakespearean company, making her first professional appearances in minor roles during a tour of South Africa in 1897.

In 1928 Braithwaite demonstrated her talent as a light comedienne when she played a ‘ten per cent lady’ in Ivor Novello's The Truth Game at the Globe Theatre.