Betty Nansen (née Betty Anna Maria Müller; 19 March 1873 – 15 March 1943) was a Danish actress and

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

of the theater that carries her name, the Betty Nansen Theatre.

Biography

She was born on 19 March 1873. She had her debut in the fall of 1893 in Copenhagen's Casino Theater as the title character in

Victorien Sardou Victorien Sardou ( , ; 5 September 1831 – 8 November 1908) was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play. He also wrote several plays that were made into popular 19th-c ...

's ''Dora''. She went on to play Magda in

Hermann Sudermann Hermann Sudermann (30 September 1857 – 21 November 1928) was a German dramatist and novelist. Life Early career Sudermann was born at Matzicken, a village to the east of Heydekrug in the Province of Prussia (now Macikai, in southwestern ...

's ''Homeland'' as well as the title character in Alexandre Dumas' ''

The Lady of the Camellias ''The Lady of the Camellias'' (), sometimes called ''Camille'' in English, is a novel by Alexandre Dumas fils, Alexandre Dumas ''fils''. First published in 1848 and subsequently Theatrical adaptation, adapted by Dumas for the Drama, stage, the pl ...

''. In the fall of 1896 she changed to the

Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first s ...

, where she had her debut as Martha in Ibsen's ''

The Pillars of Society ''The Pillars of Society'' (or "Pillars of the Community"; original Norwegian title: ''Samfundets støtter'') is an 1877 play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. Ibsen had great trouble with the writing of this play. The ending is ...

''. In 1913 to 1916, she went to the United States to try to make a career as a movie actress. She starred in a number of unsuccessful films by

J. Gordon Edwards Gordon Edwards may refer to: * Gordon Edwards (scientist) (born 1940), Canadian scientist and nuclear consultant * Gordon Edwards (cricketer) (born 1947), British cricketer and engineer * Gordon Cameron Edwards (1866–1946), Canadian politician * ...

, e.g. ''

Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, Анна Каренина, p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Tolstoy called it his first true novel. It was initially released in serial in ...

'' (which is now considered lost) ''The Song of Hate'', ''Should a Mother Tell'', ''

A Woman's Resurrection ''A Woman's Resurrection'' is a lost 1915 silent drama based on Leo Tolstoy's 1899 novel ''Resurrection''. William Fox produced the feature. Cast See also *1937 Fox vault fire *''Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept o ...

'', and ''

The Celebrated Scandal ''The Celebrated Scandal'' is a lost 1915 silent film feature directed by James Durkin and starring Betty Nansen. Although the film's copyright registration states that J. Gordon Edwards "picturized" the film, the opinion of film historians, i ...

''. After this failed attempt at movie stardom, she took over management of the Alexandra Theatre in

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the region of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of less tha ...

, which she went on to rename the Betty Nansen Theatre. She managed the theatre for 26 seasons until her death in 1943. In 1896, she married the writer, journalist and director of

Gyldendal Gyldendalske Boghandel, Nordisk Forlag A/S, usually referred to simply as Gyldendal (), is a Danish publishing house. Founded in 1770 by Søren Gyldendal, it is the oldest and largest publishing house in Denmark, offering a wide selection of ...

Peter Nansen Peter Nansen (20 January 1861 – 31 July 1918) was a Danish novelist, journalist, and publisher. He is best known as the author of the novels ''Julie's Diary'', ''Marie'', and ''God's Peace'', which together constitute ''Love's Trilogy''. ''Mari ...

(1861–1918). Her second marriage was to the actor Henrik Bentzon. She died on 15 March 1943, just 4 days before her 70th birthday.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Betty Nansen Theatret (The Betty Nansen Theatre)Manuscript on Betty Nansen, undated
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, is located at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, in the Lincoln Center complex on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York City. Situated between the Metropolitan O ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nansen, Betty 1873 births 1943 deaths Danish stage actresses Danish silent film actresses 20th-century Danish actresses Danish film actresses Danish theatre directors Danish expatriates in the United States