Background
Lillie Langtry was born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, on October 13, 1853, at St. Saviour's Rectory, Jersey, in the Channel Islands. She was the daughter of the Very Rev. William C. Le Breton, who was the dean of Jersey.
Lillie Langtry was born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, on October 13, 1853, at St. Saviour's Rectory, Jersey, in the Channel Islands. She was the daughter of the Very Rev. William C. Le Breton, who was the dean of Jersey.
Lillie was educated by her brothers' tutor. This education was of a wider and more solid nature than that typically administered to girls at that time.
In 1881 she made her first important stage appearance as Kate Hardcastle in Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer. Her best-known role was that of Rosalind in Shakespeare's As You Like It. Known as the "Jersey Lily, " from her portrait entitled "A Jersey Lily" painted by Sir John Millais, the actress toured the British Isles, the United States, and South Africa. Her friendship with the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, enhanced her fame.
In 1889, she took on the part of Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare's Macbeth. In 1903, she starred in the U. S. in The Crossways, written by her in collaboration with J. Hartley Manners, husband of actress Laurette Taylor. She returned to the United States for tours in 1906 and again in 1912, appearing in vaudeville. She last appeared on the stage in America in 1917. Later that year, she made her final appearance in the theatre in London.
From 1900 to 1903, with financial support from Edgar Israel Cohen, Langtry became the lessee and manager of London's Imperial Theatre, opening on April 21, 1901, following an extensive refurbishment.
During her final years, Langtry, as Lady de Bathe, resided in Monaco. Her autobiography, The Days I Knew, was published in 1925.
Langtry used her high public profile to endorse commercial products such as cosmetics and soap, an early example of celebrity endorsement.
In 1874 she married Edward Langtry. After the divorce from her husband, Langtry was linked in the popular press to Prince Louis Esterhazy. However, in 1899, she married 28-year-old Hugo Gerald de Bathe (1871-1940), son of Sir Henry de Bathe, 4th Baronet and Charlotte Clare. They lived together and seven of their children were born out of wedlock. They married after the death of Sir Henry's father in 1870, and Hugo was their first son born in wedlock – making him heir to the baronetcy.
Irish landowner
