Doris Davenport

Doris Davenport, also known as Doris Jordan (January 1, 1917 – June 18, 1980) was an American actress in movies of the 1930s and early 1940s.

Davenport was born in Moline, Illinois, and lived in Davenport, Iowa, before she and her mother moved to Los Angeles, California. She wanted to be an actress when she was five years old, and her parents supported that desire by providing voice training and classes in drama.

Davenport's first film was Kid Millions (1934). After that, however, she said, "It looked as if my career had begun and ended all at once." A stock contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer disappointed her after she realized "it wasn't any better than extra work". Over a span of approximately four years she applied her acting abilities on radio and in little theater.

From 1934 to 1939, she appeared in five films^{[citation needed]} and worked in New York City as a model between films. When she was interviewed under the screen name Doris Jordan for the role of Scarlett O'Hara for Gone with the Wind, she received a short-term contract with Warner Bros. She did well enough to become one of the finalists for the role.^{[citation needed]}

Despite not winning that major role, Davenport impressed studio head Samuel Goldwyn. In 1940, he gave a lead role to Davenport in the film The Westerner, starring opposite Gary Cooper and Walter Brennan. The same year, she starred in the movie Behind the News opposite Lloyd Nolan. It was her last role. Shortly after she completed The Westerner she was in a car accident in which her legs were crushed, which required her to walk with a cane the rest of her life, and she retired from acting.^{[citation needed]}

When she worked as a model, Davenport met photographer V. G. Weaver, Jr. They were married on April 12, 1938, in Fordston, Arizona, and they were divorced on July 18, 1941.

Davenport lived in Santa Cruz, California, for 10 years prior to her death on June 18, 1980, age 63.