- Georgiana Drew
Georgiana Emma Drew aka Georgie Drew Barrymore (
July 11 ,1856 –July 2 ,1893 ) was an American stage actress.Born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , her family — parents John Drew andLouisa Lane Drew , brothersJohn Drew Jr. and Sidney, and sister Louisa — were all actors. She made her theatrical debut in 1872 in "The Ladies' Rattle". She followed John Jr. toNew York , where she acted in many Broadway hits, like "As You Like It " and "Pique". In "Pique" she met a young English actor,Maurice Barrymore , whom she married onDecember 31 ,1876 . They had three children: Lionel, Ethel, and John.According to a 2004 A&E "Biography" piece, the marriage, happy at first, became rocky as Maurice indulged in numerous affairs. Georgie even filed for
divorce , but they reconciled. He asked her to tour with him andHelena Modjeska in a play he wrote; Georgie and the children had converted toRoman Catholicism under Helena's influence. Learning that he and Helena had resumed their romance, Georgie, who had been given ownership of the play by Maurice, forced her hand by closing it. Helena's husband, its producer, sued her. The real reason for Georgie's actions never got into the press.In 1890 she had a great success in "The Senator". In December 1891, illness forced her to leave the cast. Suffering from what turned out to be consumption, she traveled West in 1893 with Ethel to take a cure, but died a few months later in
Santa Barbara, California . It was 14 year old Ethel's responsibility to see that her mother's body was returned to Philadelphia for burial by Mrs Drew & Maurice. This coast to coast journey would have lasted a week in 1893.ources
* [http://secure.britannica.com/eb/article-9013507/Georgiana-Barrymore "Encyclopedia Britannica"]
External links
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* [http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchresult.cfm?parent_id=141536&word= Georgie Drew Barrymore] photo gallery at New York Public Library Billy Rose Collection
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