1. Mary Frith was born in the mid-1580s to a shoemaker and a housewife.
14 Facts About Mary Frith
1. 2.
Mary Frith's uncle, who was a minister and her father's brother, once attempted to reform her at a young age by sending her to New England.
3.
Mary Frith presented herself in public in a doublet and baggy breeches, smoking a pipe and swearing if she wished.
4.
Mary Frith was recorded as having been burned on her hand four times, a common punishment for thieves.
5.
Mary Frith's house was surprisingly rather feminine, due to the efforts of her three full-time maids.
6.
Mary Frith's dogs were particularly special to her: each had its own bed with sheets and blankets.
7.
However, Mary Frith seems to have been given a fair amount of freedom in a society that so frowned upon women who acted unconventionally.
8.
In 1611 Mary Frith even performed at the Fortune Theatre.
9.
Mary Frith put on a performance then, according to a letter by John Chamberlain to Dudley Carleton.
10.
In one case where a wife confessed on her deathbed infidelity with lovers that Mary Frith provided, Mary Frith supposedly convinced the woman's lovers to send money for the maintenance of the children that were probably theirs.
11.
The manner in which Mary Frith dressed and spoke challenged the moral codes of her day.
12.
Mary Frith has been regarded as the "first female smoker of England" and most images of her show her smoking a pipe, which was seen as something only men did during her time period.
13.
Mary Frith enjoyed the attention she drew, as her theatrical ways were intended to cause a scene and make others uncomfortable.
14.
In one of her performances, Amends for Ladies which was featured at the Fortune Theatre in London, Mary Frith played in stark contrast to the other female leads.