Born Elda Furry, she toiled from dawn to bedtime because her father believed women were beasts of burden. She ran away and joined a chorus line, and fell for a middle-aged Broadway star, DeWolf Hopper. He was a notorious skirt chaser with no body hair and blue skin. She made her film debut in 1916, and changed her name to Hedda Hopper in 1918, Hedda advanced her career by using glamorous style to upstage stars. At one point she asked for $1000 a week salary--the producers didn't blink. DeWolf Hopper was furious that the showgirl he picked up suddenly matched him in salary.