38 Facts About Ellen Terry

Ellen Terry soon returned to the stage but began a relationship with the architect Edward William Godwin and retired from the stage for six years.

Ellen Terry resumed acting in 1874 and was immediately acclaimed for her portrayal of roles in Shakespeare and other classics.

Ellen Terry and Irving toured with great success in America and Britain.

In 1903 Ellen Terry took over management of London's Imperial Theatre, focusing on the plays of George Bernard Shaw and Henrik Ibsen.

The venture was a financial failure, and Ellen Terry turned to touring and lecturing.

Ellen Terry continued to find success on stage until 1920, while appearing in films from 1916 to 1922.

Ellen Terry was born in Coventry, England, the third surviving child born into a theatrical family.

Ellen Terry made her first stage appearance at age nine, as Mamillius, opposite Charles Kean as Leontes, in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale at London's Princess's Theatre in 1856.

Ellen Terry played the roles of Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Prince Arthur in King John, and Fleance in Macbeth, continuing at the Princess's Theatre until the Keans' retirement in 1859.

Between 1861 and 1862, Terry was engaged by the Royalty Theatre in London, managed by Madame Albina de Rhona, where she acted with W H Kendal, Charles Wyndham and other rising actors.

In 1863, Chute opened the Theatre Royal, Bath, where 15-year-old Terry appeared at the opening as Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream, then returned to London to join J B Buckstone's company at the Haymarket Theatre in Shakespeare roles as well as Sheridan and modern comedies.

Ellen Terry married three times and was involved in numerous relationships.

Ellen Terry proposed marriage to Terry in spite of his being three decades her senior.

Ellen Terry was impressed with Watts's art and elegant lifestyle, and she wished to please her parents by making an advantageous marriage.

Ellen Terry left the stage during the run of Tom Taylor's hit comedy Our American Cousin at the Haymarket, in which she played Mary Meredith.

Ellen Terry was uncomfortable in the role of child bride, and Watts's circle of admirers, including Mrs Prinsep, were not welcoming.

In 1867, Ellen Terry performed in several Tom Taylor pieces, including A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing at the Adelphi Theatre, The Antipodes at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and Still Waters Run Deep at the Queen's Theatre, Long Acre.

Ellen Terry was still married to Watts, not finalising the divorce until 1877, so she and Godwin could not marry.

In 1874 Ellen Terry played in several roles in Charles Reade's works: Philippa Chester in The Wandering Heir; Susan Merton in It's Never Too Late to Mend; and Helen Rolleston in Our Seamen.

In 1875, Ellen Terry gave an acclaimed performance as Portia in The Merchant of Venice at the Prince of Wales's Theatre, produced by the Bancrofts.

In 1878 the 30-year-old Ellen Terry joined Henry Irving's company at the Lyceum Theatre as its leading lady at a generous salary, beginning with Ophelia opposite Irving's Hamlet.

Whether Irving's relationship with Ellen Terry was romantic as well as professional has been the subject of much speculation.

Ellen Terry had separated from Wardell in 1881, and Irving was godfather to both her children.

In London, Ellen Terry lived in Earls Court with her children and pets during the 1880s, first in Longridge Road, then Barkston Gardens in 1889, but she kept country homes.

In 1902 Ellen Terry played Mistress Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor, with Herbert Beerbohm Tree as Falstaff and Madge Kendal as Mistress Ford.

In 1903, Ellen Terry formed a new theatrical company, taking over management of the Imperial Theatre with her son, after her business partner Irving ended his tenure at the Lyceum in 1902.

The new venture focused on the plays of Shaw and Henrik Ibsen, including the latter's The Vikings in 1903, with Ellen Terry as the warlike Hiordis, a misjudged role for her.

Theatre management turned out to be a financial failure for Ellen Terry, who had hoped the venture would showcase her son's set design and directing talents and her daughter's costume designs.

Ellen Terry returned to the theatre in April 1906, playing Lady Cecily Wayneflete to acclaim in Shaw's Captain Brassbound's Conversion at the Court Theatre and touring successfully in that role in Britain and America.

Ellen Terry next appeared at His Majesty's Theatre as Hermione in Tree's production of The Winter's Tale.

Ellen Terry was 30 years her junior, and the couple separated after two years, although they never divorced.

Ellen Terry played Nance Oldfield in a A Pageant of Great Women written in 1909 by Cicely Hamilton and directed by Terry's daughter Edith Craig.

In 1914 to 1915, Ellen Terry toured Australasia, the US and Britain, again reciting and lecturing on the Shakespeare heroines.

Ellen Terry gave scenes from Shakespeare plays in music halls under the management of Oswald Stoll.

Ellen Terry returned to play Susan Wildersham in Walter de la Mare's fairy play, Crossings, in November 1925 at the Lyric Hammersmith.

On 21 July 1928, Ellen Terry died of a cerebral haemorrhage at her home at Smallhythe Place, near Tenterden, Kent, aged 81.

Ellen Terry's ashes are kept in a silver chalice on the right side of the chancel of the actors' church, St Paul's, Covent Garden, London, where a memorial tablet was unveiled by Sir John Martin-Harvey.

An archive of Ellen Terry memorabilia is held by Coventry University, which has an Ellen Terry Building, the former Odeon cinema in Jordan's Well.