 kathy bates as molly brown in james cameron's titanic | Molly was born in Hannibal, Missouri, which is the same town that author Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) was born in. She was known for her tall tales (still is, actually :-), and is called the "unsinkable" Molly Brown. She went to grammar school until she was 13. Soon after that she got a job at Garth's Tobacco Factory, and then as a waitress in one of the town's hotels. It was there that she says she met Mark Twain, and he inspired her to move west. She took his advice and moved to Leadville, Colorado, where some of her family already lived. She got a job in a dry goods store, where she sewed. She was very popular for her personality and her looks. She met J.J. Brown, a miner, and they were married in September of 1886. They had two children: Larry (who married three times: twice to Eileen Horton, and once to Mildred Gregory, an actress) and Helen (who was very popular socially, and married New York publisher George Benziger). |
| After J.J. struck it rich with a gold mine, he and his family moved to Denver, where Margaret strived to fit in socially. She gave many lavish parties which were well-attended. She nurtured her passions for beautiful clothes and expensive jewelry. They both gave generously to charities. She started learning many foreign languages, and even went to France so that a French expert could perfect her diction. However, she and her husband began to grow more and more estranged. After 23 years of marriage, they separated. |  from www.mollybrown.org |
 "i don't understand a one of you.." |
She was touring in Europe when she learned that her grandson (Larry's son) was sick. She immediately booked passage on the Titanic. The tales of her heroism in the lifeboats are fairly well known... how she inspired everyone to keep going when it looked hopeless. Less well-known are the tales of her heroism after the rescue. Her expertise with foreign languages enabled her to communicate with the immigrants aboard the Carpathia. She also helped raise funds for the survivors. |
| After the sinking, she became famous. By no means did her accomplishments end with the death of the great ship. She ran for Senate (she wasn't elected). During World War I, she volunteered her services as a nurse and offered her house as a hospital (both offers were rejected). She became an entertainer for the troops. She also saved the house of poet Eugene Field (he wrote "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod") from destruction. Yet after this life of good works, she was never really accepted. She died in 1932 in the New York Barbizon Hotel, alone. |  the real margarent brown |
