Gertrude Elliott (December 14, 1874 — December 24, 1950), later Lady Forbes-Robertson, was an American stage actress, part of an extended family of theatre professionals including her husband, Sir

Johnston Forbes-Robertson Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson (16 January 1853 – 6 November 1937''Sir Johnston Forbes Robertson, Beauty And Grace in Acting'', Obituaries, '' The Times'', 8 November 1937.) was an English actor and theatre manager and husband of actress Gert ...

, and her elder sister,

Maxine Elliott Maxine Elliott (February 5, 1868 – March 5, 1940) was an American actress and businesswoman. Early life Born Jessie Dermott on February 5, 1868, to Thomas Dermott, a sea captain and Adelaide Hill Dermott, she had a younger sister, actress G ...

Early life

May Gertrude Dermot (or Dermott) was born in

Rockland, Maine Rockland is a city in Knox County, Maine, in the United States. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the town population was 6,936. It is the county seat of Knox County, Maine, Knox County. The city is a popular tourist destination ...

, a daughter of Thomas and Adelaide Hall Dermott. Her father was a sea captain born in Ireland, and her mother had been a schoolteacher. Her older sister Maxine left the household for New York City by age 16, and Gertrude soon followed. Both of them began using the surname "Elliott" as young women.

Career

Elliott's career on stage began in 1894, with a role in Oscar Wilde's ''

A Woman of No Importance ''A Woman of No Importance'' by Oscar Wilde is "a new and original play of modern life", in four acts, first given on 19 April 1893 at the Haymarket Theatre, London. Like Wilde's other society plays, it satirises English upper-class society. It ...

'', in a company that was touring New York state. Both Elliotts joined a company in San Francisco that toured Australia in 1896. The company was run by Nat C. Goodwin, an actor who soon married Maxine Elliott. Their company went to London in 1899, and the next year Gertrude was hired into the company of Johnston Forbes-Robertson; Gertrude Elliott and Forbes-Robertson married at the end of 1900, and continued to work together predominantly in Shakespearean works for much of their careers. Away from the stage, Gertrude Elliott starred with her husband in a silent film version of ''Hamlet'' in 1913, directed by their friend J. H. Ryley. She also appeared in a 1917 silent film, ''Masks and Faces''. Gertrude Elliott was a co-founder and president of the

Actresses' Franchise League The Actresses' Franchise League was a women's suffrage organisation, mainly active in England. Founding In 1908 the Actresses' Franchise League was founded by Gertrude Elliott, Adeline Bourne, Winifred Mayo and Sime Seruya at a meeting in the ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

she managed the "Shakespeare Hut" in Bloomsbury, a project of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

for entertaining and raising morale among war workers. In 1923, New Zealand gave Gertrude Elliott an award for her work for

ANZAC The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comm ...

troops during the war.

Personal life

Elliott married English actor Johnston Forbes-Robertson in 1900. They had four daughters, including aircraft designer

Maxine (Blossom) Miles Maxine "Blossom" Miles, born 22 September 1901 as Maxine Forbes-Robertson, was a British aviation engineer, socialite, and businesswoman. She was born into a well-known family of actors. She became interested in aviation in the 1920s, and marr ...

, writer Diana Forbes-Robertson, and actress

Jean Forbes-Robertson Jean Forbes-Robertson (16 March 1905 – 24 December 1962) was an English actress. A versatile Shakespearean actress, she was often cast in boys' roles because of her slim build, playing Jim Hawkins in a stage version of ''Treasure Island'', Pu ...

. Johnston was knighted in 1913, making Gertrude "Lady Forbes-Robertson" from that time. She was widowed when her husband died in 1937, and Gertrude died in 1950, aged 76 years. Her grandchildren include actress Joanna Van Gyseghem. There is a plaque marking the birthplace of the Elliott sisters in the Trackside Station in Rockland, Maine."Maxine Elliott"
''Maine: An Encyclopedia''.

References

External links

*The National Portrait Gallery ha
21 portraits of Gertrude Elliott
most of them from various theatrical roles. * *
''The Elliott Sisters of Rockland''
(Gem Productions 2012), a short film about Maxine and Gertrude Elliott, made for Maine Community TV {{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Gertrude 1874 births 1950 deaths Actresses from Maine American silent film actresses 20th-century American actresses American stage actresses British women in World War I British suffragists People from Rockland, Maine YMCA leaders