Born in Coventry. From an acting family her stage career started at age 8. When 17 she retired from the stage to marry artist G.F. Watts, 30 years her senior. Her desire for the stage was greater than that for her husband and they separated after less than a year. She disappeared and her father misidentified a body recovered from the Thames as hers. She resurfaced to reveal that she was, aged 20, having a happy affair with the architect-designer Edward W. Godwin, which produced two children. She went on to have two more marriages, each to actors (Irving and an American 30 years her junior), but her greatest partnership was professional, with the actor/manager Henry Irving. Died at her home in Kent, Smallhythe, which is now a museum. John Gielgud was her great-nephew.
This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Ellen Terry
Commemorated ati
Queen's Theatre - Long Acre
Queen's Theatre The old Queen's Theatre occupied this site for just eleven y...
Other Subjects
Royal Victoria Music Hall
A former concert hall adjacent to the Royal Victoria public house. Licensed until 1887, it was rebuilt in 1890 and continued in use until 1903. From 1910 to 1914 it operated as a cinema. Demolished...
Lyric Theatre
Theatre. Built by the producer Henry Leslie with profits from the hit show 'Dorothy' which had originally opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre. It was given Grade II listing in 1960.
Duchess Theatre
The Duchess Theatre began a distinguished career as a home for both drama and comedy when it opened with the war play "Tunnel Trench" in 1929. Prominent productions have included the 1936 London d...
Edmund Payne
Actor, comedian and singer. Born in Hackney. He used his short stature and malleable features to create a popular comic persona. On stage he was often partnered by George Grossmith junior. See ther...
Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them