Jane and Katherine Lee


Jane Lee and Katherine Lee, sisters, were child stars in silent motion pictures and vaudeville theatre. They were also known as the "Baby Grands," "Lee Kids," or the "Fox Kiddies" for their appearances in Fox Film productions.
The Lee sisters were the children of American juggler Tommy Banahan and Irene Lee, an Irish dancer and occasional actor. During Tommy and Irene's European tour, Katherine was born in Berlin, Germany on February 14, 1909, and Jane born February 15, 1912, in either Dublin, Ireland, or Glasgow, Scotland. The sisters appeared in the original Neptune's Daughter, filmed in 1914. In 1915, Jane appeared with Valeska Suratt in The Soul of Broadway at Fox Studios. They both appeared in A Daughter of the Gods, with Katherine's dramatic performance earning praise as a "child prodigy" and a "three-foot Fiske." In 1917, Jane and Katherine starred in two of Fox's "kiddie films", Troublemakers and Two Little Imps. In 1919, the Lee sisters made the list in the Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll.
The Lee sisters continued to act in silent films through 1919. They appeared in Swat the Spy, Tell It to the Marines, and Smiles. Jane and Katherine continued performing in vaudeville throughout the 1920s and into early 1930s. Jane later had uncredited roles in the sound motion pictures Knock on Any Door, Cheaper By the Dozen, and Comin' Round The Mountain.
Jane married actor James E. Grant in New York on April 5, 1933. She died in New York's St. Clare's Hospital on March 7, 1957; her married name at the time was St. John. Katherine married Ray Miller of New York, and died in 1968.

Partial filmography

YearTitleAppearanceNotes
1913The Return of TonyKatherine
1914The Scales of JusticeKatherine
1914The Old Rag DollJane and Katherine
1914When the Heart CallsJane and KatherineShort
1914Neptune's DaughterJane and Katherine
1914His Prior ClaimJaneShort
1915A Life in the BalanceJane and Katherine
1915The Studio of LifeJane and Katherine
1915The Clemenceau CaseJane
1915TonyJane
1915The Devil's DaughterJane
1915The Magic Toy MakerJane and Katherine
1915Silver Threads Among the GoldJane and Katherine
1915The Soul of BroadwayJane
1915The Galley SlaveJane
1916A Daughter of the GodsJane and Katherine
1916Daredevil KateJane and Katherine
1916A Wife's SacrificeJane
1916The Ragged PrincessJane and Katherine
1916Romeo and JulietJane and Katherine
1916Her Double LifeJane and Katherine
1916Love and HateJane and Katherine
1917Trouble MakersJane and Katherine
1917The Small Town GirlJane
1917PatsyJane
1917A Child of the WildJane and Katherine
1917Two Little ImpsJane and Katherine
1917Sister Against SisterJane
1918American BudsJane and Katherine
1918Dixie MadcapsJane and Katherine
1918Swat the SpyJane and Katherine
1918Tell It to the MarinesJane and Katherine
1919SmilesJane and Katherine
1919Love Us, Love Our DogJane and Katherine
1922A Pair of AcesJane and KatherineShort
1924The Side Show of LifeKatherine
1949Knock on Any DoorJaneUncredited
1950Cheaper by the DozenJaneUncredited
1951Comin' Round the MountainJaneUncredited