Kemble, Elizabeth (c. 1763–1841)

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Kemble, Elizabeth (c. 1763–1841)

English actress. Name variations: Elizabeth Satchell; Mrs. Stephen Kemble. Born Elizabeth Satchell around 1763; died in 1841; married Stephen Kemble (1758–1822, an actor manager and brother of Sarah Siddons ), in 1783; aunt of Fanny Kemble (1809–1893); children: Henry Stephen Kemble (1789–1836, an actor who played leading parts at Drury Lane).

Elizabeth Satchell performed at Covent Garden as Polly Peachum in The Beggar's Opera in 1780; the following season, she appeared as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. Continuing her Shakespearean roles, she played Desdemona to Stephen Kemble's Othello in 1783 and married him that same year. Elizabeth Kemble's career would go on to surpass that of her husband, whose "chief distinction," groused one of his rivals, "was his ability to play Falstaff without stuffing."

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