Corinne Barker, born Gertrude Corinne Riely, was a talented actress, interior designer, and costume designer, born in Salem, Oregon. Her father, Charles Riely, was a prominent businessman, and her mother, Amelia Riely, was an elocution teacher. Corinne received her education at the Academy of the Sacred Heart and Willamette University.
As a teenager, she began acting in local stage productions, and later married William Barker in Portland in 1908, only to divorce five years later. In 1914, she moved to New York City, initially planning to become an interior designer, but instead, she was cast in a stage production of "The Squab Farm." Corinne went on to appear in several Broadway shows, including "Shirley Kaye" and "On With The Dance," and later became the leading lady in "Potash and Perlmutter" for two seasons.
Known for her hourglass figure, Corinne made her film debut in the 1918 mystery "Money Mad," and went on to costar with Mabel Normand in "Peck's Bad Girl" and with Marion Davies in "The Restless Sex." However, her film career never gained momentum. Her final film was the 1921 romance "Enchantment."
After her film career stalled, Corinne started a new career designing clothes for the theater. She was the costume supervisor for the Broadway show "No, No, Nannette" and designed all the clothes for Vincent Youmans' productions. Corinne's personal life was marked by a tumultuous marriage to Hobart Henley, whom she married in 1920, and a brief romance with millionaire oilman Robert L. Hague.
Tragically, Corinne's life was cut short when she died at the age of 38 on August 6, 1928, due to complications from food poisoning and peritonitis, after being hospitalized for several days. She was buried at River View Cemetery in Portland, Oregon.
