Alma Rubens (February 19, 1897 – January 21, 1931) was an American film actress and stage performer.

Rubens began her career in the mid 1910s. She quickly rose to stardom in 1916 after appearing opposite Douglas Fairbanks in The Half Breed. For the remainder of the decade, she appeared in supporting roles in comedies and drama. In the 1920s, Rubens developed a drug addiction which eventually ended her career. She died of lobar pneumonia and bronchitis shortly after being arrested for cocaine possession in early January 1931.

Biography

Rubens married three times. Her first marriage was to actor Franklyn Farnum, nearly twenty years her senior, in June 1918. Rubens and Farnum were married secretly and separated about two months later. According to Rubens' divorce petition, Farnum physically abused her and once dislocated her jaw. Their divorce was finalized in December 1919. In November 1923, she married Dr. Daniel Carson Goodman, an author and film producer. They separated in late 1924 and Rubens filed for divorce in January 1925.

Rubens third and final marriage was to actor Ricardo Cortez, whom she married on January 30, 1926 in Riverside, California. As her divorce from Goodman was not yet finalized, Rubens and Cortez marriage was considered invalid. They were remarried on February 8. While touring the vaudeville circuit in mid-1930, the couple separated. At the time of her death, Rubens was suing Cortez for divorce. Cortez claimed he had not been notified of his wife's death, and later remarked that he had not seen her for several months and was unaware that she was seriously ill.