Anne Bracegirdle

Born c. 1671 and died 1748 in London, England. The original Millamant and famous Restoration actress.

Life

Anne Bracegirlde was the third surviving daughter of Martha (née Furniss) and Justinian Bracegirlde. Her siblings were named Frances, Martha, Hamlet and John. According to the gravestone in Westminster Abbey, Bracegirdle lived to be eighty-five years old. However, this does not correspond with the year of her birth and death, so it can be said that she only lived to be seventy-seven. (cf. Milling) Furthermore, it is known about Bracegirdle that she came into the care of Thomas Betterton and his wife as a young girl. (cf. Milling) “Bracegirlde studied acting with Thomas Betterton, her guardian, and appeared on the stage as early as six years of age” (Britannica). Bracegirdle was said to have married the English poet and playwright William Congreve, but there is no verifiable evidence of this. (cf. Britannica)

Career

In 1688 Anne Bracegirdle came to prominence in the London theatre. She played Lucia in Thomas Shadwell’s The Squire of Alsatia. (cf. Britannica) Performance records show that Bracegirdle took part in the United Company as a child and played the page in The Orphan by Thomas Otways. Furthermore, in 1688 she appeared in supporting roles such as Atelina in William Mountford’s The Injured Lovers and Emmeline in Dryden’s King Arthur. This was followed by leading roles in which she played heroines in comedies or even a trouser role in Aphra Behn’s The Widow Ranter. (cf. Milling)

Other characters she played were:

• Marcelia in George Powell’s The Treacherous Brothers
• Biancha in Mountfort’s The Successfull Strangers
• Statira in Nathaniel Lee’s The Rival Queens
• Lady Anne in Richard III.
• Desdemona in Othello
• Millamant in Congreve’s The Way of the World
• Isabella in Gildon’s Measure for Measure
• Bellinda in Vanbrugh’s The Provoked Wife
• Almeria in Congreve’s The Morning Bride

(cf. Milling)

As Anne Bracegirdle was also a talented singer, she also sang in several stage plays. (cf. Britannica)

Literature

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Anne Bracegirdle”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Jan. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Anne-Bracegirdle. Accessed 14 January 2023.

Milling, J. “Bracegirdle, Anne (bap. 1671, d. 1748), actress and singer.” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 17. Oxford University Press. Date of access 14 Jan. 2023, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-3156.