With her captivating smile and charm beyond her years, Baby Peggy had it all—until she didn’t.
In Hollywood’s Silent Era, few child stars rose to fame as quickly as Baby Peggy. While Jackie Coogan stole hearts in The Kid (1921) and Shirley Temple would go on to define child stardom in the 1930s, Baby Peggy—born Peggy-Jean Montgomery—was one of the first to dazzle audiences with her expressive performances. Unlike Coogan and Temple, whose careers had staying power in different ways, Baby Peggy’s ascent was meteoric, but her fall was just as rapid.
Totally Honored
I had the privilege of speaking with Baby Peggy who later went by Diana Serra Cary in 2019, and she graciously reflected on her extraordinary journey—from Silent Film stardom to life beyond Hollywood. With striking honesty, she recounted the industry’s early days, the struggles she faced, and how she ultimately found her voice outside of show business.
Born in San Diego
Born on Oct. 29, 1918, in San Diego, she was introduced to Hollywood at just 19 months old. Her father, Jack Montgomery, had worked as a cowboy and stuntman, doubling for Tom Mix and appearing in Westerns as an extra.
However, it was his toddler daughter who would become the family’s unexpected breadwinner. A chance visit to Century Studios led to Baby Peggy being cast in short comedies, where she quickly won audiences over with her ability to mimic adult stars like Rudolph Valentino, Mary Pickford, and Pola Negri, she told me.
Between 1921 and 1924, she appeared in over 150 short films and several full-length features. Some of her most successful films included The Darling of New York (1923), Helen’s Babies (1924), and Captain January (1924).
By age five, she was earning over a $1 million per year, making her one of the highest-paid child stars of the Silent Era.
“I didn’t understand fame at that age,” she told me. “I just knew that I was always on set, always performing. It was my world.”
The End of a Career and a Lost Fortune
Despite her enormous popularity, Baby Peggy’s Hollywood career ended abruptly. Her father had a dispute with producer Sol Lesser, leading to an unofficial blacklist that made it nearly impossible for her to secure new roles. The family’s financial security crumbled soon after. Although she had earned a fortune, most of it had been placed under the control of her father’s stepfather, a banker. Poor investments and mismanagement left them penniless, she said.
“One day, I was the biggest little star in Hollywood. The next, we had nothing,” she recalled. “i was devastated.”
To survive, she said was sent on the vaudeville circuit, performing live in theaters across the country. Although she briefly attempted a return to film in the early Talkie Era under the name Peggy Montgomery, the comeback never took off. Adding to the downfall, another actress named Peggy Montgomery was already working in Westerns, leading to frequent mix-ups in film credits, she said.
“It was too confusing,” she said.
A New Identity: Diana Serra Cary, Writer and Historian
After years of struggling with poverty, nervous breakdowns, and the lingering effects of her lost childhood, she said she found a new purpose: writing. Under the name Diana Serra Cary, she became a respected historian and author, documenting Hollywood’s early years and the unique challenges faced by child stars.
“Hollywood had no safeguards for children back then,” she told me. “I wanted to make sure future generations didn’t experience what I did.”
Her books, including Hollywood’s Children and Whatever Happened to Baby Peggy?, explored the exploitation of young performers and the lasting emotional scars of childhood fame. She became an outspoken advocate for better protection of child actors, helping to raise awareness about financial and legal protections that were largely nonexistent in her time.
A Life Beyond the Screen
Away from Hollywood, Cary built a life centered around family and intellectual pursuits. She married twice, eventually settling down with her second husband, Bob Cary, with whom she had a son, Mark. Writing remained a lifelong passion, and she continued publishing well into her later years, she said.
“I enjoyed it immensey and it kept me busy,” she said.
Despite the hardships she endured, she remained deeply connected to Silent Film history. She attended film festivals, contributed to documentaries, and in 2016, at the age of 98, was inducted into the Classic Film Hall of Fame at the Rheem Theater in Moraga, CA. She even starred in a short silent film in 2015, making her acting career the longest on record—from 1920 to 2015. The film was shot at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum in Fremont, CA., using an antique hand-cranked camera.
A Legacy That Lives On
Cary died on Feb. 24, 2020, at the age of 101. Though her childhood career was brief, her impact on Hollywood history is ever lasting. She spent her later years ensuring that child actors of the future would not endure the same fate she had. Her voice, as Baby Peggy and as Cary, continues to echo through the pages of film history.
I must say, our conversation that year gave me a glimpse into the life of Baby Peggy—not just as a Silent Film star, but as a resilient woman who overcame adversity, reinvented herself, and left behind a legacy far greater than her early fame. I remain honored and humbed to have been one of the last people to interview her and hear her story.
Sources:
- Baby Peggy: The Elephant in the Room by Diana Serra Cary
- Hollywood’s Children by Diana Serra Cary
- Hollywood Reporter – Diana Serra Cary’s obituary (Feb. 25, 2020)
- The New York Times – Obituary of Diana Serra Cary (Feb. 2020)
- Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum archives
Some of Baby Peggy’s Notable Films:
- Captain January (1924)
- Helen’s Babies (1924)
- The Darling of New York (1923)
- The Family Secret (1924)
- Circus Clowns (1922)
- Little Red Riding Hood (1922)
- Miles of Smiles (1923)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
