Mary Anderson
(1859-1940)

"Tall, willowy and young, a fresh, fair face, short and rounded, a small finely chiseled mouth, large, almond shaped eyes of dark grey or blue, hair of light brown, and a long white throat." As described in the Herald when trying to convey something of her radiant good looks to its readers.

Anderson, Mary [Antoinette] (1859-1940) American actress born in Sacramento, CA, but raised in Louisville, KY, where in 1875 at the age of 16 she made her acting debut as Juliet at Macaulay’s Theatre. This first appearance quickly led to other engagements. She was encouraged by Charlotte Cushman and George Vandenhoff and after seasons in Louisville, St. Louis, and San Francisco, she first appeared in New York as Pauline in The Lady of Lyons in 1877. Beautiful and graceful, with a rich expressive contralto voice, she quickly won fame in classical and modern poetic drama. Hailed as a promising but unfinished performer, she went on to play Juliet, Lizzie in Evadne, the title part of Meg Merrilies, and Parthenia in Ingomar. When critics attacked her for her portrayal of Julia in The Hunchback, several important playwrights, including Dion Boucicault, wrote her warm encouraging letters. She was considered by many the most beautiful actress on the stage, and her good looks and fevor instantly won over the public, if not the critics. By 1882 had had taken on, among others, the title role in Ion and of Galatea in W.S. Gilbert’s Pygmalion and Galatea. In 1883 she sailed for England, where she spent the next several seasons. W.S. Gilbert wrote a short play, Comedy and Tragedy, expressly for her during this stay. She returned to America in 1885, a mature actress, offering Rosalind; and Clarice in Comedy and Tragedy; and Juliet. Later she was the first actress to double n the roles of Hermoine and Perdita in The Winter’s Tale. Its was in these roles that she made her last NY appearance in 1888. In 1889, at the height of her career she announced that she would marry and retire from the stage. To the surprise and disappointment of her admirers, she kept her word. In 1890, she became Mrs. Antonio de Navarro and settled in England with her new husband. She did however help Robert Hichens with the successful dramatization of his novel The Garden of Allah (1911). During World War I, she made a few appearances for charity. Her memoirs were published as A Few Memories (1896) and A Few More Memories (1930).