name of two pioneer American actors who were sisters.

Lillian Gish (1893–1993) and Dorothy Gish (1898?–1968) were born in Ohio, made their theatrical debuts at a very early age and by 1902 had begun touring through the eastern U.S. and Canada. In 1912 they joined the production company of the pioneer American film director D. W. Griffith. The sisters appeared together in silent-film classics by Griffith, such as Hearts of the World (1917) and Orphans of the Storm (1921); Lillian appeared without her sister in Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915), Broken Blossoms (1919), and Way Down East (1920). Each of the actors made many more silent films; with the advent of talking pictures, they returned to the stage.

Lillian appeared in revivals of Uncle Vanya (1930) and Camille (1932). Dorothy also acted in many Broadway productions, including The Magnificent Yankee (1946). Both sisters appeared as Mother in Life with Father in 1941, Lillian in the national company in Chicago and Dorothy on tour with the road company. Dorothy did not appear on the Broadway stage after The Man (1950). Lillian continued to make frequent appearances, among them in All the Way Home (1960) and I Never Sang for My Father (1968). Lillian appeared in many talking pictures, including Duel in the Sun (1946), Night of the Hunter (1955), A Wedding (1978), and The Whales of August (1987), but Dorothy made only three.

Lillian was coauthor of the book Lillian Gish: The Movies, Mr. Griffith and Me (1969). She was given the Life Achievement Award of the American Film Institute in 1984.

For further information on this family, see the section Gish (sisters).