Georgiana Emma Barrymore

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgiana_Drew

Georgiana Emma Drew (July 11, 1856 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania â€" July 2, 1893 in Santa Barbara, California) was an American stage actress and a member of the Barrymore acting family.

Her family - parents John Drew and Louisa Lane Drew; brothers John Drew Jr. and Sidney; sister Louisa - were all actors. She made her theatrical debut in 1872 in The Ladies' Rattle. She followed John Jr. to New York, where she acted in many Broadway hits, like As You Like It and Pique. In Pique she met a young English actor, Maurice Barrymore, whom she married on December 31, 1876. They had three children: Lionel, Ethel, and John.

According to a 2004 A&E Biography piece, the marriage, happy at first, became rocky as Maurice indulged in numerous affairs. Georgie even filed for divorce, but they reconciled. He asked her to tour with him and Helena Modjeska in a play he wrote; Georgie and the children had converted to Roman Catholicism under Helena's influence. Learning that he and Helena had resumed their romance, Georgie, who had been given ownership the play by Maurice, forced his hand by closing it. Helena's husband, its producer, sued her. The real reason for Georgie's actions never got into the press.

In 1890 she had a great success in The Senator, in which she demonstrated her comedic talent. In December 1891, illness forced her to leave the cast. Suffering from what turned out to be consumption, she traveled West in 1893 with Ethel to take a cure, but died a few months later in Santa Barbara, California. Reportedly her last words were, "Oh my poor kids!, what shall ever become of them". It was 14 year old Ethel's responsibility to see that her mother's body was returned to Philadelphia for burial by Mrs Drew & Maurice. This coast to coast journey would have lasted a week in 1893

Actress. She debutted in "The Ladies' Battle" at the Arch Street Theatre in Philadelphia in 1872. She subsequently appeared in "As You Like It," "Frou-Frou," "The School for Scandal," "The Senator". She married actor Maurice Barrymore (Blythe) in 1876, and was the mother of stage and film stars Lionel, Ethel, and John Barrymore. She died at age 38.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Apr 14 2018, 2:28:54 UTC