Anne Bracegirdle

English actress

• Born: c. 1663
• Birthplace: Northamptonshire, England
• Died: September 12, 1748
• Place of death: London, England

Because of her talent and her wit, as well as a reputation for chastity that was exceptional in her profession, Mrs. Anne Bracegirdle was one of the most admired actresses of the Restoration period. An excellent businesswoman, she became one of the first women in history to assume a managerial role in an acting company.

Early Life

Mrs. Anne Bracegirdle was born about 1663, the daughter of Justinian Bracegirdle and Martha Bracegirdle of Northamptonshire. Her father was believed to have been a coachman, coach maker, or coach renter in Northampton, though a poem written in 1700 by one of Anne’s admirers describes him as keeping an inn for carriers. Anne had a sister, Frances, and two brothers, Hamlet and John. However, Anne did not remain at home for long. Her father’s financial situation deteriorated to the point that he had to place Anne with another family.

In 1668 or thereabout, Bracegirdle went to live with Thomas Betterton and his wife, Mary Betterton, who as Mary Saunderson had been one of the first professional actresses on the English stage. In 1662, she had married Betterton, another member of her company who was also rapidly advancing in his profession. The childless young couple welcomed Anne into their family and, it is assumed, almost immediately began teaching her their craft. Though an account of her making an appearance on stage at the age of six is almost certainly erroneous, from 1676, the Bettertons’ company produced playbills that refer to “a little girl” who might have been Bracegirdle. There is also speculation that she was the “little girl” who in 1680 played the role of the page Cordelio in Thomas Otway’s The Orphan: Or, The Unhappy Marriage (pr., pb. 1680), though her name did not appear in the lord chamberlain’s records as a member of the United Company until 1688. What is certain is that by the time Bracegirdle appeared in her first major role, her adoptive parents had fully prepared her for success.

Life’s Work

On February 6, 1688, Mrs. (Mistress) Anne Bracegirdle was listed as playing Atelina in The Injured Lovers: Or, The Ambitious Father (pr. 1688), by the actor-playwright William Mountfort. In November, 1689, she appeared as Semernia in The Widow Ranter: Or, The History of Bacon of Virginia (pr. 1689, pb. 1690), by Aphra Behn , a woman playwright. This was Bracegirdle’s first “breeches” part, in which she was presented as a woman disguised as a man. The audience was so impressed by her shapely legs that thereafter she was often cast in parts that enabled her to display them.

Though Bracegirdle might have aroused the passions of the male members of her audiences, however, she had no intention of satisfying them. Indeed, as her contemporaries pointed out, her very reputation for chastity merely served to increase the number of her admirers. Their infatuation could have tragic results. In 1692, after Bracegirdle had rejected his proposal of marriage, Captain Richard Hill attempted to abduct her. After she evaded him, Hill waited for Mountfort, whom Hill supposed to be his rival, and when the actor arrived, Hill ran him through before Mountfort could draw his weapon. The death of her friend so distressed Bracegirdle that she did not appear on stage for several months.

The parts Bracegirdle played on stage were appropriate for a woman known for her exemplary behavior offstage. While she was still in her twenties, she had been assigned major roles in William Shakespeare’s plays, but the characters that suited her talent for pathos were those who were innocent victims. In the 1690’s, she was Lady Anne in Richard III (pr. c. 1592-1593, revised 1623) and Desdemona in Othello, the Moor of Venice (pr. 1604, revised 1623), and in the following decade, she appeared as Cordelia in King Lear (pr. c. 1605-1606) and Ophelia in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (pr. c. 1600-1601). During the Restoration period, rapes became a standard plot element for the first time ; it is hardly surprising, then, that Bracegirdle was often called upon to play the chaste victim of sexual brutality.

As the heroine of a comedy, however, Bracegirdle never lost control of the situation; though she flirted with her suitors, teased them mercilessly, and made them the targets of her wit, she never acceded to their demands. The playwright William Congreve was not immune to her charms. Not long after she appeared as Araminta in his first play, The Old Bachelor (pr., pb. 1693), he began writing plays with Bracegirdle in mind. One of these was the comedy Love for Love (pr., pb. 1695), which opened the new theater in Lincoln’s Inn Fields on April 30, 1695. A series of brilliant plays followed, but Bracegirdle’s finest role was probably that of the sophisticated, tantalizing Millamant in Congreve’s The Way of the World (pr., pb. 1700), first performed on March 5, 1700. During her lifetime, it was believed that Bracegirdle was Congreve’s mistress or perhaps even his wife, but there is no evidence that the playwright was any more successful in winning her favors than were any of her other admirers.

Meanwhile, Bracegirdle had become involved in theatrical management. From the time the United Company was formed in 1682, Thomas Betterton had made many of the company’s business decisions. By 1695, however, Christopher Rich had seized control, so infuriating the more established members of the company that they took their grievances to the lord chancellor. After Betterton, Bracegirdle, and the actress Elizabeth Barry met privately with King William III , he granted them a license to start a new company. As one of the three managers, Bracegirdle received a substantial share of the company’s net profits. In addition, she was so popular that her acting salary alone equaled that of the leading male actors.

Although other members of the company objected to the managers’ handling of company finances, Bracegirdle had made enough during her career that she could retire whenever she liked. As long as she was sharing the boards with Barry, who played women led astray by their passions, Bracegirdle did not feel threatened. However, in 1707, when a new manager began giving her roles to the young actress Anne Oldfield, Bracegirdle left the company in mid-season, returning only once, when she performed in a 1709 benefit for Betterton.

During the remaining forty years of her life, Bracegirdle lived quietly, entertaining friends, discussing the theater, and attending plays. She died on September 12, 1748, and was buried at Westminster Abbey.

Significance

Bracegirdle was largely responsible for elevating the status of English Restoration actresses, who had entered the theatrical world as poorly paid novelties, until they were considered the equals of their male counterparts. Her brilliant performances onstage and her business skills offstage, along with the decorum she displayed in her personal life, combined to gain her the respect of her contemporaries. Thus, she proved that if they chose to do so, women could indeed make acting not just a way to attract the attention of wealthy men but instead a legitimate profession to be pursued until retirement. The comedies she inspired Congreve to write for her all reflect Bracegirdle’s own intelligence and strength of character; these plays reinforced the idea that a woman who had control over her own emotions could have immense power over men. Thus, long after she was the toast of London, Bracegirdle is remembered not only for her valuable contributions both to her profession and to the literary canon but also as an important figure in women’s history.

Bibliography

Highfill, Philip H., Kalman A. Burnim, and Edward A. Langhans. “Bracegirdle, Anne.” In Belfort to Byzand. Vol. 2 in A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers, and Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1973. An admirable scholarly study in which a mass of relevant documents and contemporary comments about the actress are presented and evaluated.

Howe, Elizabeth. The First English Actresses: Women and Drama, 1660-1700. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992. Describes the Restoration theater and focuses on the changes brought about by the substitution of women for boy actors and especially on the links between the stage roles of the actresses and their offstage conduct. An appendix lists plays in which Barry and Bracegirdle appeared together. Illustrated. Extensive notes, bibliography, and index.

Kavenik, Frances M. British Drama, 1660-1779: A Critical History. New York: Twayne, 1995. An excellent overview, with one chapter devoted to each of four historical periods. The introduction includes such topics as stagecraft, financial policies, and acting conventions. Chronology, notes, bibliography, and index.

Lowenthal, Cynthia. Performing Identities on the Restoration Stage. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2003. A feminist critic looks at the challenges to conventional identity boundaries that followed the introduction of women into the acting profession. Bibliography and index.

Wilson, John Harold. All the King’s Ladies: Actresses of the Restoration. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1958. A thoughtful examination of the problems actresses faced in what was still a man’s world. An appendix contains biographies of the major actresses, including a lengthy entry on Anne Bracegirdle. Brief bibliography and index.