Mrs Charles Kean

A carte-de-visite portrait of Mrs Ellen Kean (1805-1880), known professionally as Mrs Charles Kean.

Born in Ireland of English parents in 1805, Eleonora ('Ellen') Tree became one of the finest English actresses of her day. She first appeared at Covent Garden in 1823 as Olivia in Twelfth Night. She then performed at Bath (1824-26), at the Drury Lane Theatre (1826-29), and at Covent Garden (1829-36), where she played Romeo to Fanny Kemble’s Juliet.

From 1836 to 1839 Ellen travelled in the United States. From 1839 to 1842 she again played at Covent Garden. In 1842 she married Charles Kean, after which they were professionally associated for the remainder of his life. In 1845 they toured the United States with an extensive repertory. From 1850 to 1859 Charles co-leased the Princess’s Theatre, London, where he and Ellen filled most of their subsequent theatre engagements and where their fame reached its peak. They established a lasting reputation as pioneers of representational realism in the production of Shakespeare, whose characters Gertrude (in Hamlet) and Viola (in Twelfth Night) were among Ellen’s finest roles. When Charles died in 1868, Ellen retired. She died in London on 20 August 1880.

Photographed by the Southwell Brothers of London.

[From an album compiled by the actor and author Charles Daly.]