Born Laura Gainer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, her family moved west to San Francisco when she was a baby. Upon graduating from either highschool, Gaynor decided to pursue the career around acting. For 2 years, she supported herself by using odd jobs around Los Angeles while taking bit part inside films. Eventually, withinside 1926, she was cast leading role in the silent film known as The Johnstown Flood, a equivalent month she wwhen selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars. Her spectacular performance won her the attention of producers, world health organization cast her within a series of films.

In a single month, Gaynor was one of Hollywood's leading ladies. Her performances inside Seventh Heaven (the number 1 of 12 picture she would produce using Charles Farrell) and two Sunrise and Street Angel (in 1927, besides by using Charles Farrell) earned her a number 1 Academy Award for Best Actress in 1928. It was a sole instance within Oscar history that this prestigious award was given for multiple roles. A award was given on the basis of the actor's aggregate beat up a month, & non good for 1 particular performance.

Gaynor was one of lone a handful of leading ladies world health organization manufactured the successful transition to healthy picture show all over the next decade. Witharound 1937, she was over again nominated for an Oscar, this period for her role in A Star Is Born. Before long when, despite a profits of a film & the plaudits for her performance, she left film for all but twenty years, giving a single endure period withinside 1957 in Bernardine. Her departure was even related her bisexuality, despite a fact that she was married gravid however which might own threatened to are causal agents for even a studio bad publicity or embarrassment; otherwise bisexuality & queerness were open secrets commonly tolerated provided discretion was exercised & protected if conceivable, however periodically destructive to a career of mortal world health organization violated a protocol & let the mask insert front of the gimlet eyes of the editorialist, paparazzi, extortionist, etc in this "less enlightened" period.

She died withinside 1984 at the age of 77 part when a aftermath of a traffic accident in San Francisco in which a driver heading a red weak crashed into her taxicab, killing one of a rider, & injuring the rest; she never fully recovered.

She was interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.

Filmography
1926 The Blue Eagle 1926 The Johnstown Flood 1926 The Midnight Kiss 1926 The Return of Peter Grimm 1926 The Shamrock Handicap 1927 Seventh Heaven (Academy Award for Better Actress) 1927 Sunrise (Academy Award for Best Actress) 1927 Two Girls Wanted 1928 Four Devils 1928 Street Angel (Academy Award for Better Actress) 1929 Christina 1929 Happy Days 1929 Lucky Star 1929 Sunny Side Up 1930 High Society Blues 1931 Daddy Long Legs 1931 Delicious 1931 The Man Who Came Back 1931 Merely Mary Ann 1932 The First Year 1932 Tess of the Storm Country 1933 Adorable 1933 Paddy the Next Best Thing 1933 State Fair 1934 Carolina 1934 Change of Heart 1934 La Ciudad de Carton 1934 ''Servant's Entrance 1935 The Farmer Takes a Wife 1935 One More Spring 1936 Ladies in Love 1936 Small Town Girl/One Horse Town 1937 A Star Is Born 1938 Three Loves Has Nancy 1938 The Young in Heart 1957 Bernardine''