Jean Darling, one of the child actresses from "Our Gang" and one of the last remaining stars from the silent film era, has died. She was 93.

Darling shot to fame at the age of 4 as part of the popular "Our Gang" series of short silent films. Thanks to what the New York Times dubbed "her golden locks and a face like a kewpie doll," Darling -- whose mother legally changed her name, Dorothy Jean LeVake, at 5 months old -- kept busy in Hollywood, starring in 46 silent movies and six talkies between 1927 and 1929.

She continued to act as she grew, including appearing as the young Jane Eyre in a 1934 adaptation of the novel. Darling also made a name for herself on Broadway, starring in the debut of Rodgers and Hammerstein musical classic "Carousel" in 1945, in which she originated the role of Carrie Pipperidge.

In the 1970s, Darling moved to Dublin, Ireland, where she reinvented herself yet again, penning multiple mystery stories that were published in the likes of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, among others. She also starred in a popular Irish children's radio and television program as the beloved character Aunt Poppy.

Darling passed away on September 4 in Rödermark, Germany, after suffering from a lung infection. She's survived by a son and two grandchildren.

[via: The New York Times]

Photo credit: Getty Images