Ethel Knight Kelly (born Ethel Knight Mollison, 28 January 1875 – 22 September 1949) was a Canadian–Australian actress, writer, and social leader. She appeared in a number of plays and wrote four books.

Early life

Kelly was born in

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John () is a port#seaport, seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest Municipal corporation, incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign ...

, Canada. She was the elder daughter of Margaret Millen Mollison and William Knight Mollison. She married Edmund Canston Moore in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on 12 September 1894. The marriage was brief; one source states that Edmund died less than a year after the wedding.

Career

She began her acting career with

Olga Nethersole Olga Isabella Nethersole, CBE, RRC (18 January 1866 – 9 January 1951) was an English actress, theatre producer, and wartime nurse and health educator. Career Olga Isabella Nethersole was born in London, of Spanish descent on her mother's sid ...

in 1894, and went on to appear in plays that included ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th ce ...

'' and ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunke ...

''. She acted with a company headed by

Augustin Daly John Augustin Daly (July 20, 1838 – June 7, 1899) was one of the most influential men in American theatre during his lifetime. Drama critic, theatre manager, playwright, and adapter, he became the first recognized stage director in America. He ...

and with George Holland's Stock Company. She appeared on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

in ''Beaucaire'' in 1901. J. C. Williamson brought her to Australia for the play ''Are You a Mason?'' in 1903. Later that year she appeared in ''

Madame Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lut ...

''. She largely left acting after her second marriage, but she still sometimes performed in matinée shows. She appeared in ''

The School for Scandal ''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777. Plot Act I Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling S ...

'' in 1917, and in her own play, ''Swords and Tea'', in 1918. Also in 1918, she appeared in the silent film '' Cupid Camouflaged'', credited as Mrs. T. H. Kelly. Her first book was an account of her travels in India, titled ''Frivolous Peeps at India '' and published in 1911. In 1922, she became editor of the

women's page The women's page (sometimes called home page or women's section) of a newspaper was a section devoted to covering news assumed to be of interest to women. Women's pages started out in the 19th century as Society reporting, society pages and event ...

of ''

Smith's Weekly ''Smith's Weekly'' was an Australian tabloid newspaper published from 1919 to 1950. It was an independent weekly published in Sydney, but read all over Australia. History The publication took its name from its founder and chief financer Sir ...

''. In 1925 she published her first novel, ''Why the Sphinx Smiles''. It was followed by ''Zara'' in 1927. She wrote a memoir, ''Twelve Milestones'', which was published in 1929.

Personal life

While in Australia she met businessman Thomas Herbert Kelly, the brother of

Willie Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Allen (basketball) (born 1949), American basketball player and ...

and Frederick Kelly. They married on 29 August 1903. They had two sons and two daughters. They remained married until his death in 1948. From 1925 to 1934, she lived primarily in

Florence, Italy Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence was a centre of medieval European t ...

, with her daughters. While in Italy she converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. She returned to Australia in 1934. Kelly was an active fundraiser for hospitals and other charities, and was a prominent hostess for Sydney social events. She died on 22 September 1949 at her home in

Darlinghurst Darlinghurst is an inner-city suburb in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the Ci ...

. She was survived by one of her sons and both of her daughters.

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Ethel Knight 1875 births 1949 deaths 19th-century Canadian actresses 20th-century Australian actresses 20th-century Canadian actresses Actresses from New Brunswick Australian film actresses Australian stage actresses Australian women writers Australian writers Canadian emigrants to Australia Canadian stage actresses Writers from Saint John, New Brunswick 19th-century Australian women Women's page journalists Social leaders