Matilda Agnes Heron was an Irish-American actress and playwright best known for her role in the play Camille, which she translated and adapted from the French play La Dame aux Camelias.
28 Facts About Matilda Heron
1.
2.
Matilda Agnes Heron was born in County Londonderry, Ireland on 1 December 1830 to John Heron and Mary Heron.
3.
Some details of Matilda Heron's past are unsure, but many records state that her family owned a small farm in Ireland before emigrating to the United States in 1842.
4.
Matilda Heron's family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where her father worked as a lumber merchant.
5.
Matilda Heron's siblings include two sisters named Fanny and Agnes and a brother named Alexander.
6.
In Philadelphia, Matilda Heron's parents sent her to a private academy that was across from the Walnut Street Theatre.
7.
Matilda Heron made her professional stage debut on 17 February 1851 in Philadelphia at the Walnut Street Theatre.
8.
Matilda Heron played the role of Bianca in Henry Hart Milman's tragic play, Fazio.
9.
Matilda Heron made her California debut in San Francisco on 26 December 1853.
10.
Matilda Heron continued to perform in California and received much critical acclaim for her work there.
11.
The resulting Camille, premiered at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia on 3 October 1855 with Matilda Heron playing the protagonist Marguerite Gautier.
12.
Matilda Heron's emotion-charged acting and personal magnetism, particularly in the role of Marguerite Gautier with which she became so closely identified, hypnotized audiences and critics alike with her captivating beauty.
13.
Matilda Heron continued to enact the role of Marguerite Gautier in New York theaters.
14.
Matilda Heron's adaptation was seen in most of the important cities of the country.
15.
Matilda Heron left no explanations of her theory of acting, but there is evidence that she identified herself closely with this role; while she achieved only minimal success in any role other than Camille, her minor successes bore strong resemblance to the Camille character.
16.
In June 1854, Matilda Heron married San Franciscan lawyer, Henry Herbert Byrne.
17.
On 24 December 1857 Matilda Heron married composer and accomplished musician Robert Stoepel after meeting him in New Orleans at a performance of Camille.
18.
In 1863, Matilda Heron gave birth to a daughter, Helen Wallace Stoepel, better known as Bijou Matilda Heron, who became an actress herself.
19.
Matilda Heron pulled her daughter out of the boarding school and trained her for the stage.
20.
Matilda Heron died at the age of 46 on 7 March 1877 at her New York City home a few weeks after an unsuccessful operation to halt hemorrhoidal bleeding.
21.
Yet in her naturalistic performances, Miss Matilda Heron contributed to the transition from the traditional romantic acting of the nineteenth century to the twentieth century realism exemplified by such figures as Minnie Maddern Fiske.
22.
Matilda Heron's interpretation was seen as particularly American, since it fit an image of robust, vigorous, and unyielding strength compared to her frail, proper European counterparts.
23.
Matilda Heron was unable to sustain over time the "electricity" originally projected in her interpretation.
24.
Besides being an actress, Matilda Heron was a writer and translator of plays.
25.
Matilda Heron translated the play La Dame aux Camelias into English and renamed her translation Camille.
26.
Matilda Heron starred alongside Edward Askew Sothern, who played the role of Armand Duval.
27.
In Medea, Matilda Heron again acted alongside Edward Askew Sothern who played the role of Jason.
28.
Around 1860 to 1861, Matilda Heron wrote The Belle of the Season and starred in it as the character Florence Upperton at the Winter Garden.