Elizabeth O'Neill (179129 October 1872), also Eliza, was an Irish actress.

Biography

Study for Miss O'Neill as Juliet (Dawe, c

Born in

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

, she was the daughter of an actor and stage manager. Her first appearance on the stage was made at the

Crow Street Theatre Crow Street Theatre was a theatre in Dublin, Ireland, originally opened in 1758 by the actor Spranger Barry. From 1788 until 1818 it was a patent theatre. History Spranger Barry and Henry Woodward The actor Spranger Barry (1719–1777), born ...

in 1811 as the Widow Cheerly in

Andrew Cherry Andrew Cherry (11 January 1762 – 12 February 1812) was an Irish dramatist, songwriter, actor and theatre manager. Life He was born in Limerick on 11 January 1762. His father, John Cherry, a printer and bookseller in Limerick, is said to hare ...

's ''The Soldier's Daughter'', and after several years in Ireland she came to London and made an immediate success as

Juliet Juliet Capulet () is the female protagonist in William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. A 13-year-old girl, Juliet is the only daughter of the patriarch of the House of Capulet. She falls in love with the male protagonist R ...

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

in 1814. For five years she was the favorite of London town in comedy as well as tragedy, but in the latter she particularly excelled, being frequently compared, not to her disadvantage, with the great Sarah Siddons. In 1819 she married

William Wrixon Becher William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conqu ...

of Ballygiblin CastleGrant's Old and New Edinburgh vol.2 p.347 , an Irish M.P., who was to be created a baronet in 1831. After her marriage, she never returned to the stage.

Selected roles

*Adelaide in '' Adelaide'' by

Richard Sheil Richard Lalor Sheil (17 August 1791 – 23 May 1851), Irish politician, writer and orator, was born at Drumdowney, Slieverue, County Kilkenny, Ireland. The family was temporarily domiciled at Drumdowney while their new mansion at Bellevue, near ...

(1814) * Adelgitha in ''

Adelgitha ''Adelgitha'' is a tragedy by the British writer Matthew Lewis. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 30 April 1807 having originally been published the year before. The cast included Henry Siddons, Robert William Elliston, George Fred ...

'' by Matthew Lewis (1817) * Florinda in '' The Apostate'' by

(1817) * Zimra in ''

Retribution Retribution may refer to: * Punishment * Retributive justice, a theory of justice ** Divine retribution, retributive justice in a religious context * Revenge, a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance Film and televis ...

'' by John Dillon (1818) * Bellamira in ''

Bellamira ''Bellamira scalaris'' is a species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns, are a large family of beetles, with over 35,000 species described. Most species are charac ...

'' by

(1818) * Urilda in '' Fredolfo'' by Charles Maturin (1819) * Evadne in '' Evadne'' by

(1819)

References

External links

Eliza O'Neill
in ''Actors and Actresses of Great Britain and the United States'', Volume 2, edited by Brander Matthews, Laurence Hutton
Eliza O'Neill
in ''Bow Bells'', by J. Dicks
Eliza O'Neill
in ''The Autographic Mirror'', Volume 3
Beecher, Lady Wrixon nee Eliza O'Neill
in ''Appletons' Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events: Embracing ...''
Miss O'Neill (Lady Wrixon Beecher)
in ''Illustrious Irishwomen: Being Memoirs of Some of the Most Noted ...'', Volume 1, by Elizabeth Casey
Eliza O'Neill
at historyswomen.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Eliza Irish stage actresses 1791 births 1872 deaths 19th-century Irish actresses People from Drogheda Wives of baronets Women of the Regency era

Biography

Selected roles

See also

References

Further reading

External links