Yates, Elizabeth (1799–1860)

English actress. Born Elizabeth Brunton in 1799; died in 1860; married Frederick Henry Yates, in 1823 (died 1842).

Appeared in London theaters in numerous Shakespearean roles, including Rosalind (As You Like It), Viola (Twelfth Night), Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing) and Imogen (Cymbeline, King of Britain).

Elizabeth Yates began her 34-year career in the English theater as a teenage actress appearing in plays by William Shakespeare. By the time she retired in 1849, about age 50, she had performed in some of England's best-known playhouses and served a year as co-manager of the Adelphi Theater in London after the death of her husband, Frederick Henry Yates, who had owned the theater with an associate.

Born Elizabeth Brunton in 1799, Elizabeth Yates landed her first role in 1815 at the Lynn theater. The young actress, approximately 16 years old at the time, played the role of Desdemona in Othello opposite Charles Kemble. Two years later, Yates arrived at Covent Garden in London where, over the next several years, she appeared in several Shakespearean comedies including roles as Rosalind in As You Like It, Viola in Twelfth Night, and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing. While at Covent Garden, Yates also appeared as Imogen in the Shakespearean tragedy Cymbeline: King of Britain. In 1824, Yates performed at Drury Lane in London. Her final days on the stage were played out in 1848 and 1849 at the Lyceum Theater in London. Yates left the theater in 1849 and died 11 years later, in 1860.

Cyndia Zwahlen , editor and writer, Phoenix, Arizona