Glyn, Isabella

ACTOR (SCOTLAND)
BORN 22 May 1823, Edinburgh - DIED 18 May 1889, London: 13 Mount St. Grover Square
BIRTH NAME Gearns, Isabella
CAUSE OF DEATH cancer
GRAVE LOCATION London: Kensal Green Cemetery, Harrow Road, Kensal Green (055/4 (31609))

Isabella Glyn was the daughter of an architect and presbyterian preacher named Gearns. She appeared in London in amateur theatrical productions before she went to Paris with her first husband Edward Willis. In Paris she studied acting and back in England Charles Kemble was her teacher. She debuted in Manchester under her mother's maiden name on 8 Nov 1847 in Shakespeare's "King John". In London she played Lady MacBeth on 28 Jan 1848 and from 1848 to 1851 she was engaged at the Sadler's Well Theatre. Apart from acting she also gave Shakespeare recitals in England and in the USA. In 1854 she created the part of Miss Stewart in "The King's Rival" by Tom Talylor and Charles Reade.

Her first husband had died died not long after their marriage. In 1853 she married Eneas Sweetland Dallas, who worked as a journalist for The Times. In 1867 she played Cleopatra at the Princess's Theatre on Oxford Street. In 1874 she started a divorce procedure that ended in a trial. After she refused to hand over some documents she was locked up in Holloway Prison for contempt of court. On 28 Jun 1879 she was released. She lived for another ten years before she died of cancer in London.

Related persons
• was teacher of Dene, Dorothy
• was pupil of Kemble, Charles

Images

The grave of Isabella Glyn at Kensal Green Cemetery, London.
Picture by Androom (26 Jun 2009)

 

Sources
Paths of Glory, The Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery, London, 1997
Isabella Glyn - Wikipedia
Dictionary of National Biography - Wikisource, the free online library


Gmelin, Gerda

Published: 30 Jul 2010
Last update: 20 Feb 2022