Kemble, Maria Theresa (1774–1838)

English actress. Name variations: Marie Thérèse De Camp, Mrs. Charles Kemble, Miss De Camp. Born Maria Theresa De Camp in Vienna, Austria, on May 13, 1774; died in 1838; the daughter of a French captain father and a Swiss mother; sister of Adelaide De Camp (Aunt Dall); married Charles Kemble (1775–1854, an actor and theatrical impresario), in 1806; children: John Mitchell Campbell (1807–1857, a philologist and historian); Fanny Kemble (1809–1893); Adelaide Kemble Sartoris (1814–1879).

Victorian writers tended to summarize Maria Theresa De Camp's origins as "vulgar" (meaning plain); there was no theatrical dynasty in her background. Her parents met while her father was a captain in the French army then invading Switzerland. Newly married and penniless, the De Camps arrived in London hoping for a new life, but Captain De Camp soon died of tuberculosis. The widow De Camp and her five children had to fend.

Maria Theresa Kemble, born in Vienna on the same month and day as that of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria , first appeared under her maiden name at the Drury Lane in 1786, age 12; she was the sole support of her family. Six years later, she scored a hit as Macheath in The Beggar's Opera. She went on to create the role of Judith in The Iron Chest, Caroline Dormer in The Heir at Law (1797), and Madge Wildfire in Heart of the Midlothian; she also portrayed Shakespeare's women: Portia, Desdemona, and Katherine. From 1806 to 1819, she appeared at Covent Garden, having married actor-manager Charles Kemble that first year; Charles would become manager of Covent Garden in 1822. Maria Theresa Kemble also wrote and appeared in First Faults (1799), The Day after the Wedding (1808) and Smiles and Tears (1815).