Mrs Patrick Campbell

From Freepedia

Image:MrsPatrickCampbell-pre1897.jpg Mrs Patrick Campbell (February 9 1865 - April 9 1940) was one of the most successful British stage actresses of her generation.

Campbell was born Beatrice Stella Tanner in Kensington, London, of English and Italian parents. She made her stage debut in 1888, four years after her marriage to Patrick Campbell, and became successful as a result of starring in Sir Arthur Wing Pinero's play, The Second Mrs Tanqueray, in 1893.

Fourteen years after the death of her first husband in 1900, Campbell became the second wife of George Cornwallis-West, a dashing writer previously married to Jennie Jerome, the mother of Winston Churchill, but continued to use "Mrs Patrick Campbell" as her stage name. In 1902 she made her first Broadway appearance in New York City and would return to perform there on a number of occasions until 1930. In 1914, she played Eliza Doolittle in the original production of Shaw's Pygmalion; though much too old for the part at 49, she was the obvious choice, being by far the biggest name on the London stage.

In her later years, Campbell made notable appearances in motion pictures, including One More River 1934, Rip Tide 1934, and Crime and Punishment 1935. She died in Pau, France, aged 75.

She and her first husband had two children, Beo and Stella.

Siân Phillips portrayed Mrs Patrick Campbell in the 1975 miniseries "Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill", which starred Lee Remick.