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Harriet Elizabeth Savill née Diddear, later married name Farren, known as Mrs Faucit) (1789–1857) was an English actress.
Harriet Diddear was the child of a theatre manager John Diddear and his wife Anne. She first appeared on stage at the age of six at the Theatre Royal,
Harriet Elizabeth Savill née Diddear, later married name Farren, known as Mrs Faucit) (1789–1857) was an English actress.
Harriet Diddear was the child of a theatre manager John Diddear and his wife Anne. She first appeared on stage at the age of six at the Theatre Royal, Brighton
Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
, and performed in Dover
Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...
, Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, a city in the United States
* Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
and Margate
Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...
in her childhood. At the age of 15 she eloped with, and on 2 September 1805 married, John Faucit Savill; shortly afterwards they appeared on stage at Margate and then Dover and as "Mr & Mrs Faucit". They had six children, including Helena or Helen Faucit (1817-1898), a celebrated actress.
In 1813 she appeared as Desdemona
Desdemona () is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venice, Italy, Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello (char ...
at Covent Garden Theatre
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...
on 7 October, her London debut, and she played Cleopatra there on 15 November. For the next twenty years she performed at Covent Garden, the Haymarket Theatre
The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre in Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in ...
and Drury Lane
Drury Lane is a street on the boundary between the Covent Garden and Holborn areas of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of London Borough of Camden, Camden and the southern part in the City o ...
.
The ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...
'' summarises her acting career thus:
In 1821 she sought an annulment of her marriage, unsuccessfully; she left her husband for William Farren
William Farren (13 May 1786 – 24 September 1861) was an English actor, who was the son of the actor of the same name (born 1754), who played leading roles from 1784 to 1795 at Theatre Royal, Covent Garden.
Life
Raised on Gower Street in ...
(1786-1861), whom she married in 1853 after her first husband's death. He had two sons, actors Henry Farren (1826?-1860) and William
William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
(1825-1908); while the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' states that these were Harriet's sons, the records of the Garrick Club Collections describe them as the sons of "an unknown woman (his first wife?)".
She died in London on 16 June 1853.
References
1789 births 1857 deaths 18th-century English actresses 19th-century English actresses {{England-actor-stub