Cushman, Charlotte, 1816-1876

Variant names
Dates:
Birth 1816
Death 1876
Birth 1816
Death 1862
Birth 1816-07-23
Death 1876-02-18
Birth 1816
Death 1876

Biographical notes:

Charlotte Saunders Cushman (July 23, 1816 – February 18, 1876) was an American stage actress. Her voice was noted for its full contralto register, and she was able to play both male and female parts. She lived intermittently in Rome, in an expatriate colony of prominent artists and sculptors, some of whom became part of her tempestuous private life. Cushman made her initial professional appearance at age eighteen on April 8, 1835 at Boston's Tremont Theatre. She then went to New Orleans where she performed successfully for one season, after which she returned to New York City to act under contract with the Bowery Theatre. She scored rave reviews in Albany, New York for her portrayal of Lady Macbeth. By 1839, her younger sister Susan Webb Cushman became an actress. The two sisters became famous for playing Romeo and Juliet together, with Charlotte playing Romeo and Susan playing Juliet. Cushman had romantic relationships with a number of women, including the writer Mahilda Hays and the sculptors Harriet Hosmer and Emma Stebbins. She died of pneumonia in her hotel room on the third floor at the Parker House Hotel in Boston in 1876, aged 59, and was interred in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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Permalink:
http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6233ktd
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Subjects:

  • Theater
  • Theater
  • Theater
  • Acting
  • Actresses
  • Actresses
  • Americans
  • Americans
  • Amusements
  • Benefit performances
  • Benefit performances
  • Drama
  • Finance, Personal
  • Theater
  • Theater
  • Actresses
  • Americans
  • Benefit performances

Occupations:

  • Actresses
  • Actors
  • Compilers

Places:

  • Italy--Rome (as recorded)
  • Boston (Mass.) (as recorded)
  • United States (as recorded)
  • England--London (as recorded)
  • United States (as recorded)
  • United States (as recorded)
  • United States (as recorded)
  • United States (as recorded)

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