Albanesi, Meggie (1899–1923)
Albanesi, Meggie (1899–1923)
English actress. Born in Kent, England, on October 8, 1899; died on December 9, 1923; daughter of an Italian violin teacher at the Royal Academy of Music and Maria Albanesi (a novelist); studied piano, attended Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), and trained under Helen Hayes; winner of the Bancroft Medal.
Meggie Albanesi made her stage debut as an understudy in Dear Brutus. Discovered by Basil Dean, she was then given the lead role of Jill in The Skin Game, followed by a triumphant opening night in Clemence Dane 's A Bill of Divorcement in 1921. Six years later, while in rehearsal for A Magdalen's Husband, Albanesi collapsed. She died of a severe hemorrhage a few days later, age 25, in a Broadstairs nursing home. Whereas her mother attributed her death to peritonitis caused by overwork, she was more commonly thought to have died from a botched abortion. Wrote John Galsworthy: "She had real devotion to her art, great quickness to seize shades of meaning, and a brain which she did not hesitate to use. She was not limited. She would have gone very far. Not often does Death so wastefully spill."
sources:
Morley, Sheridan. The Great Stage Stars. London: Angus & Robertson, 1986.