A German actress and opera singer, Hedwig came from a family of thespians. Her father Emanuel Reicher was an actor, but little is known of her mother, Lina Harf. Hedwig’s half-brother Frank (whose mother was named Hedwig) was an actor, her brother Ernst was an actor and screenwriter, her sister Elly was also an actress and her other brother Hans was a sculptor. The family came to the U.S. prior to World War I, and this is where Hedwig made her home. She added the “a” to her first name as people here believed Hedwig to be a male name. She also sometimes used the stage name of Celia Sibelius. She acted both in films and on Broadway. Among her most notable film roles were I Married a Doctor (1936), Sporting Chance (1931), and The House of a Thousand Candles (1936). She is remembered today largely for her participation in the Women’s Suffrage Parade in 1913. Arranged by suffragist Alice Paul, the parade and pageant were held on March 3, the day before Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration.
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