Kemble, Priscilla (1756–1845)

views updated

Kemble, Priscilla (1756–1845)

English actress. Name variations: Mrs. Brereton; Mrs. John Philip Kemble. Born Priscilla Hopkins in 1756; died in 1845; married John Philip Kemble (1757–1823, brother of Sarah Siddons ), in 1787.

Priscilla Hopkins performed with the Garrick company at the Drury Lane in 1775. She went on to create the roles of Harriet in The Runaway, Eliza in Spleen, or Islington Spa, and Maria in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's School for Scandal (1777). She continued her career in secondary parts as Mrs. Brereton until she married John Philip Kemble in 1787. Priscilla Kemble retired eight years later and, upon the death of her husband in 1823, lived out her days at her country place, Heath Farm, in Hertfordshire, lent to her by Lord Essex.

More From encyclopedia.com