32 Facts About Charlotte Cushman

Charlotte Saunders Cushman was an American stage actress.

Charlotte Cushman's voice was noted for its full contralto register, and she was able to play both male and female parts.

Charlotte Cushman lived intermittently in Rome, in an expatriate colony of prominent artists and sculptors, some of whom became part of her tempestuous private life.

Robert Cushman was a leader and a great advocate for emigration to America.

Charlotte Cushman became a preacher in the colonies and was known for giving the first sermon in America.

Charlotte Cushman was a remarkably bright, sportive child, excelling over her schoolmates and developing a voice of remarkable compass and richness, with a full contralto register.

Charlotte Cushman was forced to take on serious responsibilities at a very young age.

Mackay introduced Charlotte Cushman, who sang with her in two of her concerts.

Charlotte Cushman went with his company to New Orleans, where her voice, which had been strained by the soprano parts assigned to her, suddenly failed.

Charlotte Cushman made her dramatic debut in it, with complete success, in 1835.

Charlotte Cushman made her initial professional appearance at age eighteen on April 8,1835 at Boston's Tremont Theatre.

Charlotte Cushman 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.

Charlotte Cushman scored rave reviews in Albany, New York for her portrayal of Lady Macbeth.

Charlotte Cushman's husband abandoned her when she was pregnant and Charlotte cared for her sister.

In 1843, Charlotte Cushman became involved romantically with Rosalie Sully, daughter of artist Thomas Sully.

Charlotte Cushman began traveling abroad, acting in theater, and Sully died shortly thereafter.

Charlotte Cushman was very close to the writer Anne Hampton Brewster around 1844 but social pressure from Brewster's brother meant that they had to part.

Charlotte Cushman eventually left a portrait of Cushman by Thomas Sully as a bequest to the Library of Philadelphia.

In 1848, Charlotte Cushman met journalist, writer and part-time actress Matilda Hays.

In 1849, Charlotte Cushman returned to the United States and by 1852 had decided to retire from the stage.

Charlotte Cushman took up residence with Hays in Rome, Italy.

One night while Charlotte Cushman was writing a note, Hays walked in on her.

Charlotte Cushman then sued Cushman, stating in her claim that she had sacrificed her own career to support Cushman's career and therefore was due a certain payment.

Charlotte Cushman paid her an unknown sum and the two women parted company forever.

Charlotte Cushman traveled to America for a short tour a couple of months later.

Charlotte Cushman met an 18-year-old actress, Emma Crow, the daughter of Wayman Crow, and fell for her.

Charlotte Cushman was friends with artists, writers and politicians; when she came to Washington, DC in the 1860s, she often stayed at the home of Secretary of State William Seward, with whom she was very close friends.

Charlotte Cushman took a similar demonstrative farewell in the same character in Philadelphia and other cities and her career closed in Boston, at the Globe Theatre, on 15 May 1875.

Charlotte Cushman 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.

Charlotte Cushman made England her home for several years, becoming friends with the author Geraldine Jewsbury, who is said to have based a character on Cushman in her 1848 novel The Half Sisters.

In 1907, the Charlotte Cushman Club was founded and named in her honor.

Charlotte Cushman's Charlestown home is a site on the Boston Women's Heritage Trail.