Mina Cunard (born Armina Jeffries; sometimes credited as Margaret Mayburn; December 16, 1894 — August 9, 1978) was an American actress whose screen work stretched from the mid-1910s into the 1950s, largely in small roles. She’s most often mentioned alongside her older sister, Grace Cunard, a far more prominent silent-era star—though Mina’s career has its own interesting rhythm: early film work, a long disappearance, then a quiet return decades later.
Early life
Cunard was born in Columbus, Ohio, to Washington Jeffries and Lola Longshore. She had a half-brother, Quincy, from her mother’s first marriage, and her sister Grace, who would become the family’s best-known performer.
Following Grace into film
After Grace entered the film industry, Mina followed. The two sometimes worked in the same orbit, and Mina benefited from the same early silent-era ecosystem—shorts, serials, and quick-turnaround productions where actors could rack up credits fast.
But the careers didn’t mirror each other. Grace became the recognizable name. Mina became the supporting figure: present, working, and then—gone.
The vanishing act
By the early 1920s, Mina had largely disappeared from the screen. Instead, she shifted toward stage work, performing with her husband, Harry Seymour (an actor and radio announcer). They had one child. This period reads like a pragmatic pivot: film wasn’t always stable, and stage/radio circuits could offer more predictable routines—especially for performers building a family life.
Return in the 1940s
Mina resurfaced in films in the 1940s, which is one of those fascinating Hollywood patterns: an early-era performer returning later, often in uncredited or small credited parts. By then, the industry had changed—sound was fully entrenched, studios were more systematized, and the “supporting character actor” lanes were more clearly defined. Mina fit that lane.
Selected filmography
Later-era roles (return period)
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Good Luck, Mr. Yates (1943)
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The Conspirators (1944)
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Prince Valiant (1954) — uncredited
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How to Be Very, Very Popular (1955) — uncredited
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Good Morning, Miss Dove (1955)
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Jeanne Eagels (1957)
Silent-era work
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A Beach Nut (1919) — short
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The Bathhouse Scandal (1918) — short
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The Black Sheep of the Family (1916)
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Hired and Fired (1916) — short
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Is Any Girl Safe? (1916)
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What Love Can Do (1916)
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The League of the Future (1916) — short
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Lord John’s Journal (1915)
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Graft (1915) — as Margaret Mayburn
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The Broken Coin (1915)
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Little Mr. Fixer (1915) — short
The takeaway
Mina Cunard’s career is less a straight climb than a two-act story: early silent-era work in the wake of a famous sister, then a long retreat into stage life, followed by a modest Hollywood return decades later. She didn’t chase the spotlight as relentlessly as Grace—she simply kept working when it made sense, and stepped away when it didn’t.
