American actress, born on the 15th of August 1879 in Philadelphia, and educated at the Convent of Notre Dame in that city. She made her début in 1896 in the company of her uncle, John Drew. In 1897 she first appeared in England in Secret Service, and with Sir Henry Irving’s company in The Bells and Peter the Great (1898). She was first starred by Charles Frohman in Captain Jenks in 1900, and subsequently became one of the leading actresses in the United States.
Her brother, John Barrymore (1882–1942), who first appeared on the stage in Magda in 1903, had also, by 1921, established his position as one of the foremost American actors as had also another brother, Lionel (1878–1954), whose first appearance was in 1893.
