Wynne, Esme

Dorothy Ripper was born in 1989 in Stockwell. Educated first by governesses, then at an English boarding school and finally at a Belgian convent, she became a child-actress in 1909, taking the stage name Esme Wynne.

Noel Peirce Coward was born in Teddington in 1899, the second of three sons. He was educated briefly at a choir school and later received dance lessons, but was otherwise lacking in formal schooling. Precocious and excelling in local amateur talent shows, Coward's mother steered him into a career on the stage. His first professional engagement came in 1911 at the age of 14, where he appeared in the children's play The Goldfish in London.

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