Mary Devlin Booth (1840–1863) was an American stage actress and the first wife of actor

Edwin Booth Edwin Thomas Booth (November 13, 1833 – June 7, 1893) was an American stage actor and theatrical manager who toured throughout the United States and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869, he founded Booth's Th ...

Private life

Booth was born Mary Devlin in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, United States. It is located on the western edge of the county, on the eastern bank of the Hudson River just northeast of the capital city of Albany, New York, Albany. At the ...

, on May 19, 1840. She married Edwin Booth on July 7, 1860, at which point she retired from acting. Through this marriage, she became a part of the prominent

Booth family The Booth family was an English American theatrical family of the 19th century. Its most known members were brothers Edwin Booth, one of the leading actors of his day, and John Wilkes Booth, also a fellow actor most remembered for assassinating ...

. The couple had one child together,

Edwina Booth Grossman Edwina Booth Grossman (December 9, 1861 – December 26, 1938) was an American writer and the daughter of Shakespeare in performance, Shakespearean actor Edwin Booth. In 1894, she published the book ''Edwin Booth: Recollections by His Daughter, ...

. Booth died on February 21 1863, after which Edwin Booth briefly retired from acting. She is buried at

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery, located in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, is the first rural or garden cemetery in the United States. It is the burial site of many prominent Boston Brahmins, and is a National Historic Landmark. Dedicated in ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

beside her daughter and husband.

Career

In 1860, Booth appeared as

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 ...

in a production of ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'', alongside actress Charlotte Cushman, who played

Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lord Montague, Lord Montague and his wife, Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lady Montague, Lady Montague, he ...

. Booth was portrayed by actress

Maggie McNamara Marguerite McNamara (June 18, 1928 – February 18, 1978) was an American stage, film, and television actress and model from the United States.Obituary '' Variety'', March 22, 1978, page 46. McNamara began her career as a teenage fashion model. ...

in the 1955 film '' Prince of Players''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Booth, Mary Devlin 19th-century American actresses Booth family Actors from Troy, New York 1840 births 1863 deaths