Marion Cecilia Davies (born Marion Cecilia Douras; January 3, 1897 – September 22, 1961) was an American actress, producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist. Educated in a religious convent, Davies fled the school to pursue a career as a chorus girl. As a teenager, she appeared in several Broadway musicals and one film, "Runaway Romany" (1917). She soon became a featured performer in the "Ziegfeld Follies". While performing in the 1916 "Follies", the nineteen-year-old Marion met the fifty-three-year-old newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst and became his mistress. Hearst took over management of Davies' career and promoted her as a motion picture actress.