Margherita Cecilia Brigida Lucia Maria Albanesi (8 October 1899 – 9 December 1923) was a British stage and film actress.

Life and career

She was born in London on 8 October 1899. Her father was Italian-born

Carlo Albanesi Carlo Albanesi (22 October 1858 – 26 September 1926) was an Italian-born composer, pianist, teacher and examiner who spent most of his working life in England. His ''Exercises for Fingering'', first published in the early 1900s, are still in u ...

(1856–1926), a pianist and teacher at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

, while her mother was

Effie Adelaide Rowlands Effie Adelaide Maria Henderson (later Rowlands and Albanesi; c.1859 – 16 October 1936) was a British novelist, better known under the pen names Effie Adelaide Rowlands, E. Maria Albanesi and Madame Albanesi. She was the author of more than 1 ...

(1859–1936), a writer who published over 250 romance novels and short stories. Albanesi attended the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

where she was awarded the Bancroft Medal. She enjoyed a short but successful theatre career, appearing in plays such as

John Galsworthy John Galsworthy (; 14 August 1867 – 31 January 1933) was an English novelist and playwright. He is best known for his trilogy of novels collectively called '' The Forsyte Saga'', and two later trilogies, ''A Modern Comedy'' and ''End of th ...

's ''

The First and the Last ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...

'', opposite

Owen Nares Owen Ramsay Nares (11 August 1888 – 30 July 1943) was an English stage and film actor. Besides his acting career, he was the author of ''Myself, and Some Others'' (1925). Early life Educated at Reading School, Nares was encouraged by his m ...

, and ''

The School for Scandal ''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777. Plot Act I Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling S ...

'' and '' Mr. Todd's Experiment''. She was soon being hailed by critics as one of the brightest prospects in British acting. In 1920 she appeared as Jill in Galsworthy's play '' The Skin Game'', and played the same role in the 1921 film of the play. In 1921 Albanesi starred as Sydney Fairfield in Clemence Dane's first and most famous play, A Bill of Divorcement, and in 1922 played Mabel Dancy in Galsworthy's play '' Loyalties'' which ran for nearly a year at the

St Martin's Theatre St Martin's Theatre is a West End theatre which has staged the production of '' The Mousetrap'' since March 1974, making it the longest continuous run of any show in the world. The theatre is located in West Street, near Shaftesbury Avenue, i ...

. Albanesi appeared in six films between 1919 and 1922 including ''

The Romance of Old Bill ''The Romance of Old Bill'' is a 1918 British silent film, silent comedy film, comedy war film, war directed by George Pearson (filmmaker), George Pearson and starring Charles Rock, Arthur Cleave and Hugh E. Wright. It was made at Twickenham Stud ...

'', ''

Darby and Joan Darby and Joan is a proverbial phrase for a married couple content to share a quiet life of mutual devotion. Usage ''The Nuttall Encyclopædia'' defined the phrase as "a married couple celebrated for their mutual attachment", the ''Random Hous ...

'' and '' Mr. Wu''.

Death

Albanesi died at the age of 24 in

Broadstairs Broadstairs () is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St Peter's, and had a population in 2011 ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, on 9 December 1923, after emergency abdominal surgery''Meggie Albanesi'' (1928). By Her Mother ( Effie Adelaide Albanesi) . London: Hodder & Stoughton. caused by intestinal obstruction due to inflammatory adhesions. This was allegedly a consequence of an illegal abortion. She was buried in

St Pancras and Islington Cemetery St Pancras and Islington Cemetery is a cemetery in East Finchley, North London. Although it is situated in the London Borough of Barnet, it is run as two cemeteries, owned by two other London Boroughs, London Borough of Camden, Camden (formerl ...

in north London. Albanesi had a relationship with the theatre and film producer

Basil Dean Basil Herbert Dean CBE (27 September 1888 – 22 April 1978) was an English actor, writer, producer and director in the theatre and in cinema. He founded the Liverpool Playhouse, Liverpool Repertory Company in 1911 and in the First World War, a ...

, who continued to be obsessed with her after her death. Dean was first attracted to his wife, the actress

Victoria Hopper Victoria Hopper (24 May 1909 – 22 January 2007) was a Canadian-born British stage and film actress and singer. Biography Victoria Evelyn Hopper was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and brought up in North East England. She studied ...

, because of her physical resemblance to Albanesi and cast her in a number of his productions. His final film as a director ''

21 Days ''21 Days'' (also known as ''21 Days Together'', ''The First and the Last'' and ''Three Weeks Together'') is a 1940 British drama film based on the short 1919 play ''The First and the Last (play), The First and the Last'' by John Galsworthy. It ...

'' was based on a play, ''The First and the Last'', on which he had worked with Albanesi. Dean commissioned

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as "the greatest artist-craftsma ...

to create a memorial plaque to Albanesi, which can be seen in the foyer of the

, West Street, London.'Remember Meggie Albanesi', London Walking Tours
/ref> Her friend

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

dedicated the first published text of his play ''

The Rat Trap ''The Rat Trap'' (1918) is a four-act drama by Noël Coward, written when he was 18, but not staged until he was 26, by which time he was well known as a rising playwright, after the success of ''The Vortex''. The play depicts the clash of egos ...

'' to the "dear memory of Meggie Albanesi" in 1924.

Filmography

Theatre credits

Theatre

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Albanesi, Meggie 1899 births 1923 deaths Actresses from London English stage actresses English film actresses English silent film actresses English people of Italian descent Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art 20th-century English actresses