Kate Josephine Bateman Crowe (October 7, 1842 – April 8, 1917) was an American actress. She started out as a child actor with her sister Ellen Bateman, but it was Kate who later developed a career in romantic leading parts.

Early life and childhood acting

Kate Josephine Bateman was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

. Her father, Hezekiah Linthicum Bateman, was an actor and theatrical manager. Her mother,

Sidney Frances Bateman Sidney Frances (Cowell) Bateman (March 29, 1823 – January 13, 1881) was an American actress, playwright, and theatrical manager who spent much of her career on the American stage. Biography Sidney Frances Cowell was the daughter of Joseph Cow ...

, was a playwright, theatrical manager, and actor, and her maternal grandfather

Joseph Cowell Joseph Leathley Cowell (né Hawkins-Witshed; 7 August 179213 November 1863) was an English actor, author, and painter. Early life Cowell was born Joseph Leathley Hawkins-Witshed not far from Torquay in Devon. His father had been a colonel in t ...

was a comic actor. Bateman and one of her sisters, Ellen, showed early theatrical talent, and the senior Batemans devoted themselves to managing their daughters' careers. Kate began appearing on stage by the age of five, at a time when child prodigies were something of a rage in the United States. After performing with Ellen around the Midwest and Southeast for a couple of years, the girls debuted in New York in 1849; their show included excerpts from several of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's plays. The showman

P. T. Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding with James Anthony Bailey the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He was ...

put them on a large salary to appear at his museum, and in 1850-52 he sponsored their tour of Great Britain as 'The Bateman Children'. This was followed by a long tour of the United States that took the girls to California. In 1856, Kate and Ellen retired from child acting.

Later acting career

In 1859, the Bateman family moved to New York, and the following March, sixteen-year-old Kate appeared in her mother's adaptation of

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include the poems " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to comp ...

's ''

Evangeline ''Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie'' is an epic poem by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, written in English and published in 1847. The poem follows an Acadian girl named Evangeline and her search for her lost love Gabriel during the e ...

'' at New York's

Winter Garden A winter garden is a kind of garden maintained in wintertime. History The origin of the winter garden dates back to the 17th to 19th centuries where European nobility constructed large conservatories that housed tropical and subtropical pla ...

. This role launched Bateman on her adult career as an actor, and she eventually became known primarily for romantic roles like Shakespeare's

Juliet Juliet Capulet () is the female protagonist in William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. A 13-year-old girl, Juliet is the only daughter of the patriarch of the House of Capulet. She falls in love with the male protagonist Ro ...

and Pauline in ''

The Lady of Lyons ''The Lady of Lyons; or, Love and Pride'', commonly known as ''The Lady of Lyons'', is a five-act romantic melodrama written in 1838 by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton. It was first produced in London at Covent Garden Theatre on 15 Febru ...

'' as well as leading roles in melodramas. Another early success was as Julia in ''The Hunchback'' in 1862. One of Bateman's most celebrated roles was as the title character in ''Leah the Forsaken'',

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 ...

's adaptation of

Mosenthal Mosenthal is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Joseph Mosenthal (1834–1896), German-American musician * Salomon Hermann Mosenthal (1821–1877), writer, dramatist, and poet {{Short pages monitor