Margaret Saunders | |
---|---|
Born | 1686 |
Died | c. 1748 London |
Nationality | British |
Margaret Saunders or Mrs Saunders (born 1686 - c. 1748) was a British actress.
Saunders was born in Weymouth and attended a boarding school in Wiltshire before being apprenticed by a milliner. At the age of sixteen she began her acting career at Drury Lane Theatre due to an introduction by her lifelong friend Anne Oldfield.
In 1708 and 1709 she was billed "Mrs Saunders" for her performances at Drury Lane. but it appears that she never married as she was declared a spinster when she died. [1] Saunders appeared in many significant roles. Her comedy appearances were celebrated at a benefit performance in 1747 at the Theatre Royal. Saunders did not appear as she had been unable to leave her house for a year and a half. [2]
Anne Oldfield was an English actress and one of the highest paid actresses of her time.
Susanna Centlivre, born Susanna Freeman and also known professionally as Susanna Carroll, was an English poet, actress, and "the most successful female playwright of the eighteenth century". Centlivre's "pieces continued to be acted after the theatre managers had forgotten most of her contemporaries." During a long career at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, she became known as the second woman of the English stage, after Aphra Behn.
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