Smithson, Harriet Constance (1800–1854)

Irish actress. Name variations: Henrietta Constance Smithson; Madame Berlioz. Born in Ennis, Ireland, in 1800; died on March 3, 1854; daughter of a theatrical manager; married Hector Berlioz (the composer), in October 1833 (separated 1840).

Debuted at Crow Street Theatre in Dublin as Lady Teazle (1815); appeared at London's Drury Lane Theatre as Letitia Hardy (1818); appeared in Paris (1828, 1832).

Irish actress Harriet Constance Smithson, the daughter of a theatrical manager, was born in Ennis in 1800. She made her stage debut at the Crow Street Theater, Dublin, in 1815 as Lady Teazle in Sheridan's The School for Scandal (one source reports the role as Albina Mandeville in Reynolds' Will), and appeared as Letitia Hardy at the Drury Lane Theater in London in 1818. For several years, Smithson performed at provincial theaters, and made successful appearances in Boulogne and Calais in 1824. In 1828 and 1832, Smithson and the eminent Shakespearean actor William Macready performed in Paris, where her talents were greatly admired. She played such roles as Jane Shore , Desdemona, Juliet, and Ophelia, causing a sensation and attracting the attention of several admirers. Among these was the composer Hector Berlioz, whom Smithson married in 1833. By then, however, her popularity had waned, and she was in financial straits. Berlioz continued to support her even after their separation in 1840. Smithson died on March 3, 1854.

Elizabeth Shostak , freelance writer, Cambridge, Massachusetts