Laura Bowman (October 3, 1881 – March 29, 1957) was an American stage, radio, and film actress.Tanner, Jo A.
"Bowman, Laura"
In Hine, Darlene Clark, ed. ''Black Women in America: Theater Arts and Entertainment'', Encyclopedia of Black Women in America. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 1997. ''African-American History Online''. Facts On File, Inc.

Early life and stage career

Bowman was born in

Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ), known as Illinois's "Gem City", is a city in and the county seat of Adams County, Illinois, United States, located on the Mississippi River. The 2020 census counted a population of 39,463 in the city itself, down from 40,633 in 2010. ...

, and grew up in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

. She performed in '' In Dahomey'' in London with her common-law husband,

Pete Hampton Pete George Hampton (August 7, 1871 – March 16, 1916) was an American vocalist, harmonicist, banjo player, and vaudevillian from Bowling Green, Kentucky. He was part of various Vaudeville groups of which the most important was his own Dar ...

, in the early 1900s. She joined the

Lafayette Players A number of theatre companies are associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Lafayette Players (1916–1932) Anita Bush, a pioneer in African American theater, began an acting company after seeing a show at the Lincoln Theater in Harlem. She wante ...

, a

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harl ...

acting troupe, in 1916 and worked with them on and off for several years.

Filmography

References

External links

* 1881 births 1957 deaths 20th-century American actresses African-American actresses American film actresses American stage actresses People from Quincy, Illinois Actresses from Illinois 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people {{US-theat-actor-1880s-stub