Agnes Kelly Robertson
Born25 December 1833
Edinburgh, Scotland
Died6 November 1916
Occupation(s)Actress, stage
SpouseDion Boucicault

Agnes Kelly Robertson (25 December 1833 in Edinburgh – 6 November 1916) was a Scottish actress who became popular on the American stage.

Early years

Robertson was the ward of Charles Kean, and the juvenile lead in his theatre company. There she met the actor and dramatist Dion Boucicault, a collaborator of Kean's. In 1853, she and Boucicault left for America without Kean's permission and married in New York, creating a scandal.[1]

Career

Robertson made her North American debut on 19 September 1853 at Montreal's Theatre Royal as Maria in Boucicault's The Young Actress. She also acted in Jessie Brown; or, The Siege of Lucknow (1858), The Octoroon (1859), and The Colleen Bawn (1860).[2] She was billed as The Pocket Venus.[3] Three photographic portraits of Robertson are held in the National Portrait Gallery in London.[4]

Family

Robertson became Boucicault's second wife in 1853 and divorced him on 21 June 1888 by reason of "bigamy with adultery" after it was discovered that he had married another woman, Louise Thorndyke, bigamously. During the time of their marriage, they had 6 children: Dion William; Eva (or Eve) Boucicault; Darley George ("Dot") Boucicault, later known as Dion Boucicault the Younger (an actor, manager and stage director who married actress Irene Vanbrugh); Patrice Boucicault; Nina Boucicault (an actress); and Aubrey Boucicault (an actor and writer).[1][5]

References

  1. 1 2 "The stage Irishman". Irish Times. August 6, 1998.
  2. ↑ The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Bordman, Gerald Martin and Thomas S. Hischak (3rd ed.). New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press. 2004. ISBN 9780199916474. OCLC 56923022.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. ↑ Thomson, Peter (2004). "Boucicault, Dion [real name Dionysius Lardner Boursiquot] (1820–1890), playwright and actor". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/2976. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  4. ↑ "Agnes Kelly Boucicault (née Robertson) - National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  5. ↑ "Arts/Review of 'Heavenly bodies' at the Birmingham Rep". Financial Times. April 24, 1986.
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