Mary Anne (Fanny) Stirling (1815 – 28 December 1895) was an English actress renowned for her comedy roles in a career for over fifty years.

Biography

Stirling was born in

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

on 29 July 1815, the daughter of a spendthrift father Captain Simon Hehl and his second wife Mary Anne Lucas. As part of her education she was sent to convent school in France. She appeared as Zephyrina, the widow, in ''The Devil and the Widow'' at the

Pavilion Theatre, Whitechapel The Pavilion Theatre at 191–193 Whitechapel Road, London, was the first major theatre to open in London's East End. It was destroyed by fire in 1856 and rebuilt as the New Royal Pavilion Theatre, which operated until 1935. History The theatr ...

in January 1832. Later that year she married the playwright, actor and manager Edward Stirling Lambert (1809–1894). They worked together and they were known as Mr and Mrs Stirling and her husband's first play was ''Sadak and Kalasrade'' which was performed in Theatre Royal, Birmingham in 1835. Having been successful as Celia in ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has b ...

'' and Sophia in ''The Road to Ruin'', Macready gave her an opportunity to play Cordelia to his ''

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'', and Madeline Weir to his James V in the Rev. James White's ''King of the Commons''. In 1852 she created

Peg Woffington Margaret Woffington (18 October 1720 – 28 March 1760), known professionally as Peg Woffington, was an Irish actress and socialite of the Georgian era. Peg and Peggy were a common pet name for those called Margaret until the late 20th centu ...

in Reade and Taylor's ''Masks and Faces''. Ellen Terry and Fanny Stirling by Anna Massey Lea Merrit

In later years Mrs Stirling gained a new popularity as the nurse in

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's presentation (1882) of ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'' where she was said to "steal the show" from a cast that included Ellen Terry but she returned to the role in 1884 with Mary Anderson; and she was the Martha in Irving's production of '' Faust'' (1885). She died on 28 December 1895, having in the previous year married Sir Charles Hutton Gregory (1817–1898). She is buried in Brompton Cemetery; at her request there were very few mourners, one of whom was the actor-manager Squire Bancroft. London. A biography of her was published in 1922 by her grandson

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; the appendix lists all the principal parts Mrs Stirling played from 1831–2 to 1885. An obituary in ''The Era'' also gives an extensive critique of her many performances. Her second husband died in London on 10 January 1898, and he was also buried in Brompton Cemetery.New York Times Obituary (11 January 1898)
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Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stirling, Mary Anne 1815 births 1895 deaths English stage actresses Burials at Brompton Cemetery 19th-century English actresses