Kershaw, Willette (1890–1960)

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Kershaw, Willette (1890–1960)

American actress. Born June 17, 1882, in Clifton Heights, Missouri; died May 4, 1960, in Honolulu, Hawaii; sister of Alice Kershaw (actress, Mrs. Thomas Ince); m. David Sturgis (div.).

Made stage debut as a child in St. Louis (1901); made NY debut as a page in L'Aiglon, starring Sarah Bernhardt (1901); replaced Laura Hope Crews in lead in Brown of Harvard; other plays include The Country Boy, Fancy Free, The Unchastened Woman, Hari-Kari, King Henry VIII and The Crowded Hour; had much success in London as well as Paris, where she had her own company and produced The Well of Loneliness and Maya (1929); films include The Vortex.