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Heritage Floor Tags > profession: Actress
Marie Champmeslé
b. 1642, Rouen, France; d. 1698, Auteuil, FranceMarie Desmares Champmeslé, leading tragedienne of the seventeenth-century French stage, married the actor Charles Chevillet Champmeslé and by 1669 both were members of the prestigious Théâtre du Marais in Paris.... Read more
Eleanor Duse
b. 1858, near Vigevano, Italy; d. 1924, PittsburghEleonora Duse, known for her roles in plays by Gabriele D'Annunzio and Henrik Ibsen, was considered by many to be one of the most gifted actresses of her time. Born... Read more
Edith Evans
b. 1888, London; d. 1976, Cranbrook, Kent, EnglandEdith Evans was one of the most accomplished and talented English actresses of the twentieth century. In 1912, she made her debut in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, and in 1925... Read more
Elizabeth Farren
b. circa 1759/62, London; d. 1829, near LiverpoolElizabeth Farren began performing on stage with her parents, strolling actors who established a touring company. When her father died in 1770, Elizabeth and her mother eked out a living... Read more
Nell Gwyn
b. 1650, England; d. 1687, LondonNell Gwyn, actress and royal mistress, was introduced to theatrical life as a young girl selling oranges to theatergoers in Drury Lane. She made her first stage appearance in 1664... Read more
Sonja Henie
b. 1912, Oslo; d. 1969, Los AngelesSonja Henie won the first of ten consecutive world championships in figure skating in 1927 at the age of fourteen. She also earned Olympic gold medals in 1928, 1932, and... Read more
Katharine Hepburn
b. 1907, Hartford, Connecticut; d. 2003, Old Saybrook, ConnecticutKatharine Hepburn, one of the greatest actresses of the Hollywood system, sustained one of the longest careers of her generation. Her screen persona—a combination of patrician poise and androgynous tomboyishness—confused... Read more
Ida Kaminska
b. 1899, Odessa, Ukraine; d. 1980, New YorkBorn into an illustrious theatrical family—her mother was called "the Yiddish Duse"—Ida Kaminska began acting in 1916, becoming a leading player in the Warsaw Yiddish Art Theater. She starred... Read more
Edna St. Vincent Millay
b. 1892, Rockland, Maine; d. 1950, Austerlitz, New YorkEdna St. Vincent Millay was an American actor, poet, and playwright. Upon her graduation from Vassar College in 1917, she published her Renascence and Other Poems and in 1923 became... Read more
Susanna Rowson
b. circa 1762, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England; d. 1824, BostonSusanna Rowson (née Haswell), a writer, actress, and educator, published her first novel, Victoria, in 1786. Along with her husband, William Rowson, she emigrated to the United States in 1793... Read more
Sarah Siddons
b. 1755, Brecon, Wales; d. 1831, LondonBorn into the theatrical Kemble family, Sarah Siddons would attain iconic status as a tragedienne, although her parents initially discouraged her pursuit of a life on the stage. In her... Read more
Alfonsina Storni
b. 1892, Capriasca, Switzerland; d. 1938, Mar del Plata, ArgentinaAlfonsina Storni, one of the most important Argentinean poets of the past century, was also an actress and theater educator. She helped establish the Argentine Society of Writers and was... Read more
Marie Venier
Flourished 1590–1627, ParisMarie Venier (Vernier), the first Parisian actress to be known by name, made her theatrical debut in 1604. Married to the theater manager and comic actor Mathieu Lefebvre, called Laporte... Read more
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