Sarah Siddons

One of the best tragic stage actresses of the 18th century

Born:

1755

Place of Birth:

Brecon

"I believe one half of the world is born for the convenience of the other half" Sarah Siddons

Biography:

Sarah Siddons was born in Brecon in 1755. Acting was in her blood. Her grandmother Fanny Kemble was a famous actress in her time and her father Roger Kemble was the manager of a small troupe of travelling actors.

Even as a small child, Sarah worked as an actress in her father's company. She was the eldest of twelve children, eight of whom went on the stage with two of her brothers also gaining reputations as great actors.

When she was a teenager, Sarah fell in love with William Siddons, a handsome actor who had joined her father's company. Her parents did not want their daughter to marry William. They wanted to see Sarah marry a local squire who had also proposed.

They sent her away to work as a lady's maid in Warwickshire but Sarah was adamant and in the end her parents gave in and gave their consent to her marriage to William. The couple were married in Trinity Church, Coventry in November 1773.

Now Mrs Siddons, Sarah joined a new acting company. She was spotted by a talent scout while playing in Cheltenham in 1774 who passed her details on to the manager of London's Drury Lane, David Garrick. In 1775, Garrick offered her a chance to tread the boards at his West End theatre but her performance was a wash out. She'd only recently given birth to her third child and, not surprisingly, was not at her best.

Drury Lane Diva
Sarah returned to tour the regions where she earned a reputation as the queen of tragedy. In 1782, she received another offer to appear at Drury Lane and accepted, albeit reluctantly. This time, her success was phenomenal and for the next 20 years, she was the undisputed diva of Drury Lane.

During a Siddons performance, the audiences were known to cry - it is said that men would weep quietly while women would sob and some would faint. One actor who worked with Siddons said, "She was the most lofty-minded actress I ever beheld. From the first moment to the last, she was, according to theatric parlance, in the character."

Her talents had not gone unnoticed by the royal family and she was asked to perform readings at Buckingham Palace as well as give the royal children elocution lessons.

In 1812, at the age of 57, she retired from the stage with a farewell performance as Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare's Macbeth. Some of Britain's leading artists painted her portrait, including Thomas Gainsborough and Sir Joshua Reynolds who called his painting Mrs Siddons as the Tragic Muse.

Read more about Sarah Siddons' hometown in our Brecon Life pages.

your comments

wells West London
I was wondering if you are able to help me my parents live in Richborough House in Bowling street Sandwich kent and I was browsing on the internet and i was curious as my parents address is linked to the actress Sarah Siddons 1755 but I Sadly was unable to see on the full website why my parents house in Bowling Street was linked to her do you know by any chance why as there is no recollection of her in our house history notes.This may sound strange when my parents first moved in they heard a rustle of a long dress at night passing the end of their bed on two consecutive nights and my parents followed the sound and the unseen apparition and sound went out through the window what we call the tudor room then in 2003 I was asleep in one of the bedrooms on the second floor and I Was woken by a huge white apparition at the door at 3am yes,it scared me but in the year 2008 someone said the reason I Saw the apparition is because i Have the opportunity to be a very strong psychic spiritualist healer could it have been Sarah Siddons if not why is our house connected to her. I Have not seen the ghost like a huge mist again but if it comes again I Hope i will know what to do.I hope you can help.many many thanks
Sun Jun 28 18:27:05 2009

Graham Vivian, London
As a sign of her popularity,in addition to the well known paintings of Sarah Siddons by the great artists of the day, there is a a Wedgwood plaque showing her in a 'tragic' mood and a series of 18th century opaque twist wine glasses of which I have two, each engraved with head and shoulders portraits of the actress reflecting her stage roles and which are discussed in Glass Notes no 16 published in December 1956 by Arthur Churchill. All the glass engravings and plaque emphasise her striking features particulary her hair and nose!!
Wed Jan 21 16:16:01 2009

Martyn Henry, Ammanford
There is a public house in brecon called the sarah siddons, what prompted me to check out what she was, was seeing a large picture of her in a witherspoons pub in bristol today, the pub appears to have been a bank in a bygone age.
Fri Sep 19 09:10:44 2008

Avril Siddons Fleming Notts.
I am a direct descendant of Sarah Siddonsand am trying to find any connection toBakewell,Derbyshire.Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thu Sep 11 10:30:50 2008

Denise Cattanach from Penrith Cumbria
I am the granddaughter of Herbert Kemble and niece to Philip Kemble of Sydney and Norman Kemble of Victoria, Australia. My mother was Joyce Kemble. I have always known that Sarah Siddons was a distant relative and must add that there is a strong family resemblance. My mother and Uncle Norman look very like her in the picture by Gainsborough. I myself have the "Kemble chin and nose" unfortunately.
Tue Nov 20 14:07:06 2007

Ms Siddons
hi, its long been said in our family that we are related to Sarah Siddons (probably through her marriage to william Siddons) if any one has any information that might be useful to me in proving this either way I would be very grateful.
Thu Nov 1 14:36:50 2007

Mrs Redouane
Strangely enough I was just watching Antiques Roadshow and a gentleman had brought in a statue of this lady, he was allowed to take it home after gardening in a home for retired actors. The gentleman had no idea who it was as it had been outside for years and gone black, after covering it in bleach he discovered who the sitter for the bust was and the age, which was during Mrs Siddons lifetime, which was all written on the base, it had been presented to the green room of the Drury lane theatre!It was commented that she was famed for her strong features, high-bridged nose and forehead, giving hr an almost ! masculine appearence.I only fell on this page to see who she was, funnily enough although I live in London, I am from Wales too!
Mon Oct 29 08:08:20 2007

Elizabeth Melanie Lane
Just moments ago, I visited the "Special Collections" of the Honnold/Mudd Library at The Claremont Colleges, and there I read through some of the personal letters handwritten by Sarah Siddons. It is a part of the Philbrick Library, which was donated to the university research library many years ago by Professor Philbrick, who has been deceased for some time. Tucked away in a small corner of the "Special Collections" is this rare find of so many of Sarah Siddons' handwritten letters. Additionally, The Tragic Muse painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds of Sarah Siddons is not far away at The Huntington Library of San Marino, which is where I work as a docent. Truly a treasure, I would encourage anyone passing through southern California to pay a visit to The Huntington.
Tue Jan 9 09:31:00 2007

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