(October 13, 1853 - February 12, 1929)
A popular British actress of classical repertory, Lillie Langtry also acted in vaudeville and an early film, wrote a play and a novel, managed a theatre company, used her celebrity to promote soap and cosmetics, bet on horse-racing and gambled in Monte Carlo casinos, and owned a winery in California. She was also something of a "professional beauty": she received her first marriage proposal at the age of fourteen and earned her nickname, the Jersey Lily, after sitting for a portrait of the same name by Sir John Everett Millais. Her friends included Oscar Wilde and Sarah Bernhardt; George Bernard Shaw complained that "She has no right to be intelligent, daring and independent as well as lovely" 1; and her most famous romantic relationship was with Prince Albert, the future King Edward VII.
Langtry made her successful London stage debut in 1881, playing Kate Hardcastle in She Stoops to Conquer; she also famously played Rosalind in As You Like It. The next year, when Langtry arrived in New York with her company for her first of three American tours, traffic came to a standstill and the New York Stock Exchange closed. 2 During her first, sell-out performance in New York the theatre burnt down, leaving only the marquee with her name on it, and the papers deemed it "The biggest and costliest advertisement ever designed to welcome a star to America's shores!" 3 In 1882, 1906, and 1915, Langtry played to packed houses and became a style icon for the women across America who copied her hats, dress, and hairstyles. Following her extensive career, Langtry lived in Monaco until her death in 1929.
1. Birkett, Jeremy.
2. http://jersey.typepad.com/lillie_langtry/
3. Birkett.
Resources
Birkett, Jeremy. Lillie Langtry: Her Life in Words and Pictures. Poole: Blandford P, 1979.
This is an interesting and detailed but short biographical sketch, focused primarily on Langtry's private life.
Guenoc Vineyard. www.guenoc.com.
The Langtry Estate and Vineyards, which Lillie Langtry owned from 1888 to 1906, still bottles wine with her image on the label.
Langtry, Lillie. The Days I Knew. 1925.
"Lillie Langtry: The Jersey Lily." http://www.jaynesjersey.com/lillielang.htm.
This detailed biography, which includes several photographs and links to other websites, is part of a website about the island of Jersey.
Temple, Colin. "Lillie Langtry." http://www.geocities.com/MadisonAvenue/Suite/3175/.
This website offers a "full archive" of more than fifty photographs of Lillie Langtry.
"Tribute to the Life of Lillie Langtry." The Langtry Manor Hotel. http://www.lillielangtry.com/Society.htm.
This biography page also includes many photographs, a timeline of Langtry's life, and lists of resources and related websites. It is sponsored by the Langtry Manor Hotel, the former home of Langtry and Prince Albert, which continues to offer luxurious hotel accommodation in southern England. The hotel's website is langtrymanor.co.uk.
Who's Who in the Theatre. London: Gale Research, 1912-1966.
A great source of information on when and where actors performed some of their most famous roles in theatres and film in America and England.
Young, William. Famous Actors and Actresses on the American Stage. New York: R.R. Bowker Company, 1975.
Good information about some of the more well-known character actors of early American stage and screen.