Biography
The daughter of early movie matinee idol Maurice Costello and the younger sister of silent star Dolores Costello, Helene Costello made her first movie appearances as a child in her father's films. Helene's adult career followed many of the same paths previously trodden by her sister Dolores: modelling work in New York, dancing in
George White's Scandals, and leading-lady assignments in several popular films of the 1920s. Helene co-starred in the first all-talking feature film,
Lights of New York (1928); ironically, she proved to be an inadequate talkie actress, and her star quickly waned. For a brief period in the early 1930s, Helene was the wife of actor/director Lowell Sherman, and the sister-in-law of John Barrymore. Twenty-two years after appearing in her last film, Helene Costello died at age 53, suffering from the combined effects of pneumonia and tuberculosis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide