Anna Cora Mowatt

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In: 19th Century Women, Actresses, Authors, Playwrights

American author, playwright, and actress, Anna Cora Mowatt Ritchie (1819–1870), challenged the mores of her era by acting on the stage at a time when the theater was railed against by the clergy, when female actresses were considered lewd, and when women, especially upper-class women such as herself, were supposed to remain at home caring for husband and children. Early Life Anna Cora Mowatt’s early life set the stage for her later accomplishments. Born tenth in a family of fourteen children, Mowatt spent her first six years in France. Her aristocratic, wealthy parents had links to the first families in New York and cherished writingRead More →

Maud Allan Dancer

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In: 20th Century Women, Actresses, Artists, Women's Rights

I am sure you have heard of the Dance of the Seven Veils, but do you know who created it? Dancer Maud Elizabeth Allan (c.1873- 1956), born Ulla Maud Durrant in Toronto, Canada, was raised in San Francisco. Musically talented on the piano, she went to Germany to study. While she studied there, her brother committed a brutal murder in San Francisco. Unable to return, she changed her name, and encouraged by the director of the Meister-schüle, gave up the piano and took up dancing professionally. For five years, she toured Europe dancing to classical music. In 1906, she performed the dance Salome based onRead More →

Dora Jordan Actress

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In: 18th Century Women, Actresses

Guest post by Elf Ahearn During the Georgian era, the United Kingdom’s most famous and notorious actress was Mrs. Dorothea Jordan (Dora), whose curly brown hair, tiny waist, perfect legs, and brilliant comic timing made her the Jennifer Aniston of her day. Dora, born Nov. 22, 1761, was the granddaughter of a Welsh clergyman named Phillips. Being poor, this man of the cloth persuaded his three daughters to become actresses, though “we know from unquestionable authority, that they were all respectable in the profession.” That said, one daughter, Grace Phillips, succumbed to the advances of Mr. Francis Bland, an Irish lad not yet of legalRead More →