Lota Cheek

Lota Cheek was born in Pavo, Georgia, the daughter of a farmer named Leon Cheek.^[3] Growing up in a rural environment, she later moved to New York City to pursue a career in the public eye.^[4] She went to Atlanta and attended Cox College.^[1]

Lota's mother Nannie was involved in a notorious legal case when Lota was a toddler. In 1900, Nannie was arrested for her alleged involvement in the killing of her first husband, William Danzey.^[5] The incident, which also resulted in the death of a brother-in-law, stemmed from a custody dispute over the two children Nannie shared with Danzey. Nannie was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to two years in prison, which she entered with her three-month-old baby, James. She was paroled in late 1901 due to concerns for the baby's health.^[6] Nannie died in 1917, four years before Lota achieved her beauty queen fame.

Cheek gained initial public attention when she won a Boston beauty contest in 1921, earning a $1,000 prize ($18,170.50 in 2025).^[7] Her fame increased substantially when she won a major New York City beauty contest in 1922, defeating 6,000 contestants and earning the official title of "America's prettiest girl".^[8]

Her striking looks and long, unconventional tresses, which challenged the popular bobbed-hair fashion of the Flapper era, garnered significant media attention. This notoriety launched her acting career in New York.^[9] She appeared in several Broadway productions, most notably in Earl Carroll's Vanities of 1923, and other plays under the name Lota Sanders.^[10] She also worked as a model and music teacher.

Her sudden fame led to a career in New York's theatrical scene.^[1] She appeared in the popular Broadway revues. She was also a model, notably appearing in advertisements for Colgate toothpaste in 1927.^[11] She appeared in many Broadway productions in total, sometimes under the name Lota Sanders after her marriage.^[10]

Cheek had a complex personal life marked by several marriages. She first married Robert Platt Stout in Alabama in 1916 and divorced him in 1920.^[12]

In 1922, she was involved in a public scandal when a woman, Mrs. E. C. Simmons (sometimes spelled Seimmons), named her as a co-respondent in her divorce case. It was revealed that Cheek's husband at the time, an F.L. Simmons (or Seimmons), had married Lota without first obtaining a proper divorce from his previous wife, making his marriage to Cheek legally invalid.^[13] Lota was engaged to silent film star Buster Keaton. It was seen as a potential "power couple" pairing between a top Broadway beauty and one of Hollywood's biggest stars.

The engagement was called off abruptly shortly after it began but this occurred during a turbulent period in both of their lives—Lota was dealing with the fallout of a bigamy scandal involving her previous husband, and Keaton's personal life and career were entering a more complex phase.

In 1924, Lota married the British actor Tyrell Davis in Manhattan while both were performing on Broadway. However, their marriage lasted only a few months as they divorced when Davis returned to England and Lota remained in the United States.^[14]

By 1925, she had remarried yet again and took the surname of her new husband, Harry Sanders, and generally used this name thereafter. She and her husband, Mr. Sanders, had two children together.

After her period of fame, Lota Cheek-Sanders lived a private life. She died on April 22, 1978, in Tucson, Arizona, at the age of 79.^[15]