Kemble, Fanny Anne

Kemble, Fanny Anne [ Frances Anne Kemble] (1809–93), English actress, daughter of Charles Kemble. With no particular desire for a theatrical career, she was persuaded to appear at Covent Garden in 1829 by her father, who hoped she would help to avert the bankruptcy which threatened his management. She was first seen as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, and was immediately successful. For three years she brought prosperity to the theatre and everyone connected with it, being seen as Portia in The Merchant of Venice, Beatrice in Much Ado about Nothing, Lady Teazle in Sheridan's The School for Scandal, and a number of tragic parts formerly associated with her aunt Mrs Siddons, among them Isabella in Southerne's The Fatal Marriage, Euphrasia in Murphy's The Grecian Daughter, Calista in Rowe's The Fair Penitent, and Belvidera in Otway's Venice Preserv'd. She also created the part of Julia in Sheridan Knowles's The Hunchback. Unlike the rest of her family she seems to have been good in both tragedy and comedy. In 1832 she went with her father to America, and was received everywhere with acclamation. In 1834 she left the stage on her marriage to an American, whom she divorced in 1848. After living in retirement in Lennox, Mass., for 20 years, she returned to London, where she died.