Fay Lanphier
Lanphier in 1926
Born
Fay Elinora Lanphier

(1905-12-12)December 12, 1905
El Dorado, California, US
DiedJune 21, 1959(1959-06-21) (aged 53)
Orinda, California, U.S.
Resting placeMountain View Cemetery
Other namesFay Daniels
EducationOakland High School
Title1925 Rose Queen
Miss Santa Cruz 1924
Miss California 1925
Miss America 1925
PredecessorRuth Malcomson
SuccessorNorma Smallwood
Spouses
Sidney M. Spiegel
​
​
(m. 1928; div. 1929)​
    Winfield Daniels
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1931⁠–⁠1959)​
    Children2

    Fay Elinora Lanphier (December 12, 1905 – June 21, 1959)[1] was an American model and actress most noted for winning the title of Miss Santa Cruz in 1924 and then Miss California and Miss America in 1925.[2]

    Early life

    Lanphier was born in El Dorado, California, the eldest child of six born to Percival Caspar Lanphier and Emily Elenora Olson.[3][4] Her family later moved to Alameda, California.[4] Lanphier's father died before she was a teenager.[4] She graduated from Oakland High School in 1924 and was saving money to go to business college.[4] In December 1924, Lanphier signed a contract with Max Graf to star in a series of shorts produced on the San Francisco Peninsula.[4]

    Career

    Pageantry

    She was the 1925 Rose Queen.[5] To date, she is the only person to hold both titles at the same time. She is also the first Miss California to become Miss America.[6] Before she was Miss California, she was Miss Santa Cruz 1924. Lanphier won Miss America in 1925 on a vote of 12–3.[4]

    Film career

    Lanphier appeared in the Paramount Pictures film The American Venus (1926) which featured a beauty contest, and co-starred Louise Brooks,[7] and performed for a short time on stage in San Francisco with the Henry Duffy Players.[8]

    Personal life

    On June 8, 1928, Lanphier married Sidney M. Spiegel, son of Joseph Spiegel, in Chicago.[9] They divorced after six months of marriage.[10][11]

    In 1931, she married high-school sweetheart Winfield Daniels, with whom she had two daughters.[12] They remained married until her death in 1959.[13]

    Later years and death

    After her second marriage, Lanphier largely retired from public life and became a housewife and mother.[13] She lived in the Oakland, California suburb of Orinda until her death from hepatitis and viral pneumonia at age 53 on June 21, 1959.[14][15]

    On June 24, 1959, Lanphier was interred at the Outdoor Mausoleum at the Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California.[15]

    References

    1. ↑ California Death Index
    2. ↑ "Miss America's Smile Her Greatest Asset". The Pittsburgh Press. September 23, 1925. p. 6.
    3. ↑ 1920 US Federal Census
    4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The American Venus: Fay Lanphier's controversial career as Miss America · SCPL Local History". history.santacruzpl.org. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
    5. ↑ "East-West Grid Game Stage Set". Berkeley Daily Gazette. December 31, 1925. p. 7.
    6. ↑ "Miss California History". Miss California. Archived from the original on October 13, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
    7. ↑ "Jesse L. Lasky Tells How "The American Venus" Was Selected At Atlantic City". The Palm Beach Post. October 4, 1925.
    8. ↑ "Radio Technique Is Studied For Remote Control". San Jose News. November 11, 1929. p. 6.
    9. ↑ "Fay Lanphier Weds Sidney Spiegel, Jr". Lancaster Daily Intelligencer Journal. Lancaster, Pennsylvania: LNP Media Group. June 8, 1928. p. 19.
    10. ↑ "Beauty Queen To Wed". Sunday Morning Star. June 10, 1928. p. 23.
    11. ↑ "Fay Lamphier Divorced". San Jose News. March 9, 1929. p. 9.
    12. ↑ "Fay Lanphier Weds Schoolmate". The New York Times. July 22, 1931. p. 19.
    13. 1 2 "Fay Lanphier Dies; East Bay Housewife". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California: by San Francisco Media Company LLC. June 23, 1959. p. 3.
    14. ↑ "Miss America : 1925". Archived from the original on March 30, 2010. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
    15. 1 2 Wilson, Scott (206). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons (3 ed.). McFarland. p. 425. ISBN 0-786-47992-2.
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