Josephine Clifton (1813?-1847) was a stage actress who became known as "the first American actress to star in London".

Life and career

The early years of Josephine Clifton seem to be lost, what little information exists is controversial. Most historians believe she was born in New York and her surname was Miller, others think she may have come from Philadelphia. In the fall of 1831, Clifton met

Thomas Hamblin Thomas Souness Hamblin (14 May 1800 – 8 January 1853) was an English actor and theatre manager. He first took the stage in England, then immigrated to the United States in 1825. He received critical acclaim there, and eventually entered theatr ...

, actor and manager of the Bowery Theater. He was well known for his philandering ways, so although she had no acting experience and because she was a great beauty, Hamblin made her his protegee and gave her the "beautiful ingenue" role in many of his productions. On September 21, 1831, she made her debut as Belvidera in ''Venice Preserved''. She was Elvira in ''

Pizarro Francisco Pizarro, Marquess of the Atabillos (; ; – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish ''conquistador'', best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Born in Trujillo, Spain, to a poor family, Pizarro chose ...

'' and played Lady MacBeth. She moved to the Park Theatre to play Bianca in '' Fazio''. Josephine Clifton on stage

Around 1834, amidst rumors of affairs, Clifton moved to London where she appeared at

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 ...

and became "the first American actress to star in London." She returned to New York where in 1836, Epes Sargent wrote a five-act play, ''The bride of Genoa'', for her which was successfully produced by the Tremont Theatre. She then performed her most famous role, the title part in ''Bianca Visconti'', based on the career of

Francesco I Sforza Francesco I Sforza (; 23 July 1401 – 8 March 1466) was an Italian condottiero who founded the Sforza dynasty in the duchy of Milan, ruling as its (fourth) Duke of Milan, duke from 1450 until his death. In the 1420s, he participated in the ...

. This play was written for her by

Nathaniel Parker Willis Nathaniel Parker Willis (January 20, 1806 – January 20, 1867), also known as N. P. Willis,Baker, 3 was an American writer, poet and editor who worked with several notable American writers including Edgar Allan Poe and Henry Wadsworth Longfello ...

in 1837, when he won the $1000 prize in a contest given by her for the best

blank verse Blank verse is poetry written with regular metre (poetry), metrical but rhyme, unrhymed lines, usually in iambic pentameter. It has been described as "probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the 16th cen ...

tragedy to suit her talents.

Later years

She spent some of her later years in Philadelphia where she often played opposite the actor

Edwin Forrest Edwin Forrest (March 9, 1806December 12, 1872) was a nineteenth-century American Shakespearean actor. His feud with the British actor William Macready was the cause of the deadly Astor Place Riot of 1849. Early life Forrest was born in Phila ...

. In 1846, she married Robert Place, the manager of the American Theater in New Orleans, but she died unexpectedly the next year. After her death it was reported that her relationship with Forrest had been much more than professional, and Clifton was named as a factor during Forrest's notorious divorce.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clifton, Josephine 1810s births 1847 deaths American expatriate actresses American expatriates in the United Kingdom 19th-century American actresses American stage actresses