In the 1929 film Pandora’s Box, which actress portrayed the character Lulu?

In the 1929 film Pandora’s Box, Louise Brooks portrayed Lulu. Directed by G. W. Pabst, the German silent film adapted Frank Wedekind’s plays Erdgeist and Die Büchse der Pandora.

Brooks was an American actress and dancer whose performance became the defining feature of the film. Lulu is a charismatic and sexually independent woman whose relationships drive the plot toward violence and tragedy. Brooks’s bobbed haircut, direct expression, and physical performance helped make the role an enduring image of silent cinema.

The film was initially controversial because of its sexuality, crime, and moral ambiguity. It later gained major critical recognition, especially after restorations and revivals brought it to new audiences. Brooks’s work in the film is now widely treated as one of the landmarks of screen acting.

The title does not refer to a literal retelling of the Greek myth. Instead, Wedekind’s Lulu drama uses Pandora imagery to frame a story about desire, social judgment, and destructive relationships.