Hennings, Betty (1850–1939)
Hennings, Betty (1850–1939)
Danish actress. Name variations: Betty Schnell. Born Betty Schnell in 1850; died in 1939; married.
Betty Schnell, whose married name was Betty Hennings, began her career as a ballet star, dancing leading roles for August Bournonville, a major figure in Danish ballet during the golden age of Romanticism. In 1878, Hennings gave up ballet while still quite young to star as the first Nora in Ibsen's A Doll's House, opposite Emil Poulsen (1842–1911). The play opened at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen on December 21, 1879, and would be performed in Stockholm, Christiania, Helsinki, Munich, and Berlin, all in the following year. Hennings, the first great Ibsen actress, continued working with Poulsen. For many years, they played the principle roles in the world premieres of Ibsen's plays in Copenhagen, with William Bloch producing.