Sarah Siddons was a Welsh actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century.
30 Facts About Sarah Siddons
2.
Sarah Siddons was the elder sister of John Philip Kemble, Charles Kemble, Stephen Kemble, Ann Hatton, and Elizabeth Whitlock, and the aunt of Fanny Kemble.
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Sarah Siddons was most famous for her portrayal of the Shakespearean character, Lady Macbeth, a character she made her own.
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The Sarah Siddons Society, founded in 1952, continues to present the Sarah Siddons Award annually in Chicago to a distinguished actress.
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The 18th-century marked the 'emergence of a recognisably modern celebrity culture' and Siddons was at the heart of it.
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From 1770 until her marriage in 1773, Sarah Siddons served as a lady's maid and later as companion to Lady Mary Bertie Greatheed at Guy's Cliffe near Warwick.
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In 1774, Sarah Siddons won her first success as Belvidera in Thomas Otway's Venice Preserv'd.
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Sarah Siddons was, in her own words, "banished from Drury Lane as a worthless candidate for fame and fortune".
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Sarah Siddons was immediately struck with her excellence, and pronounced that she would never be surpassed.
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Sarah Siddons did more than this; he wrote directly to Palmer, manager of the Theatre Royal Bath, to advise an engagement of her without delay.
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Sarah Siddons was an immediate sensation playing the title role in Garrick's adaptation of a play by Thomas Southerne, Isabella, or, The Fatal Marriage.
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Sarah Siddons continued to act in the provinces, appearing at The Theatre, Leeds, in 1786 and consistently brought a thorough understanding to each of her roles.
13.
Rather than portraying Lady Macbeth as a murderous evil queen, Sarah Siddons depicted her with a strong sense of maternity and a delicate femininity.
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Sarah Siddons was tall and had a striking figure, brilliant beauty, powerfully expressive eyes, and solemn dignity of demeanour which enabled her to claim the character as her own.
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Sarah Siddons once told Samuel Johnson that Catherine was her favourite role, as it was the most natural.
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Sarah Siddons played the role of Hamlet multiple times over three decades.
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Sarah Siddons went on to repeat the role in Liverpool.
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Sarah Siddons proposed that last performance to her friend and fellow actor William Galindo as a revival of their successful 1802 performance, with herself as Hamlet and Galindo as Laertes.
19.
Sarah Siddons, according to Laura Engel, invented a new category of femininity for actresses: the "Female Star".
20.
Sarah Siddons had a unique ability to control her own celebrity persona and "manipulate her public image through a variety of visual materials" Some scholars believe that although Sarah Siddons' fame and success appeared effortless, it was in fact "a highly constructed process".
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For example, Sarah Siddons used her role of Isabella, a sacrificing mother, to frame her "rise to stardom in terms of her maternal roles on stage and off stage".
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In performing these domestic moments with the result of public triumph, Sarah Siddons was able to reiterate the characteristics that made her such a popular celebrity and icon; "her devotion to her family and her humble, behind-the-scenes existence".
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Sarah Siddons formally retired from the stage in 1812, but reappeared on special occasions.
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Sarah Siddons gave birth to seven children, five of whom she outlived:.
25.
Sarah Siddons regularly performed on stage while visibly pregnant, which often elicited sympathy for her character.
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Sarah Siddons's descedants include John Siddons Corby, who invented the Corby gentleman's trouser press, and his children, Peter Corby and Jane Beadon.
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Sarah Siddons was interred in Saint Mary's Cemetery at Paddington Green.
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Sarah Siddons' gravestone was one of the few to be preserved, and it remains in good condition beneath a wrought iron canopy, despite some erosion and the modern addition of a protective cage.
29.
The now-prestigious Sarah Siddons Award is presented annually in Chicago, with a trophy modelled on the statuette of Siddons awarded in the film.
30.
Sarah Siddons sat for numerous artists, and her portraits include many that depict her in costume portraying a theatrical role.