Louise Henry, born Jessouise Heiman, was the only child of Dr. Jesse Heiman, a renowned doctor, and his wife, Louise Henry Heiman, a talented vaudeville star. Born into a family with a strong connection to the entertainment industry, Louise's early life was marked by her mother's struggles with tuberculosis, which led her to a sanitarium in Saranac Lake, New York.
While her mother received treatment, Dr. Heiman, who was also her doctor, and Louise Sr. fell in love, and the couple eventually got married. Louise and her mother spent a significant portion of her youth touring Europe, where the young Louise, as she was affectionately known, made a lasting impression by dancing the Charleston.
As she grew older, Louise moved to Hollywood, where she adopted her mother's name as her stage name and began her acting career. Her connections in the industry, including Will Rogers and Carl Laemmle, helped pave the way for her success. Louise's beauty was often compared to that of Jean Harlow and Carol Lombard, and she went on to make several films, mostly at MGM.
However, Louise's acting career was short-lived, and she eventually returned to New York City in the early 1940s. There, she married Samuel Robert Weltz, Sr., a lawyer, and had two stepchildren, S. Robert Weltz, Jr. and Pauline Weltz Raiff. The couple lived a quiet life, splitting their time between homes in Manhattan and Elberon, New Jersey.
Despite struggling with poor health in her later years, Louise's beauty never faded, and she maintained a radiant smile until the end. She remained a beloved figure, and her legacy lived on through her step-granddaughter, filmmaker Laurie Weltz, and her step-great-granddaughter, actress India Ennenga.
