Entertainers etc who have married into the Peerage and Baronetage

[S. S.]

While I was writing the final section C for my re-write of the Complete Peerage, I came across a Wikipedia page that lists singers, actors etc who married into the peerage. 

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_entertainers_who_married_titled_Britons

There were also a few courtesy peers and a few children of peers on the list. Complete Peerage also has an appendix on peers and their relationships with such entertainers. 

I was wondering if anyone can furnish me further information on the following categories of person in entertainment marrying into the peerage (I also require a year of marriage to be given, so those who are engaged do not count but would be nice to make note of that):

Note: The sex of the individual in question does not matter, i.e. a male actor marrying a peeress in her own right etc. I define an "entertainer" as anyone who has been an actor, singer, dancer, ballerina etc in that sense of the word. 

(1) Those entertainers who married peers or peeresses, including those who later succeeded to a peerage or were created in later life, even after their marriage with an entertainer ended prior to that. 

(2) Those entertainers who married heirs apparent or heirs presumptive to a peerage

(3) Those entertainers who married only the children (younger sons or daughters) of a peer or peeress

(4) Those entertainers who married baronets

S.S.

[bx...@yahoo.com]

If you are including life peers, then Dame Joan Plowright, who married Lord Olivier in 1960.  He had previously been married to (in 1939) Vivien Leigh.

Also, Sarah Brightman, who married Andrew Lloyd-Webber in 1983, but they were already divorced by the time he was created a peer.

Brooke

[dpth...@gmail.com]

At the website of The History of Parliament Online, if you go to the Search line and search for words such as "actress", etc., you will find many results.

[bx...@yahoo.com]

I'm not sure if you would consider a writer an "entertainer", but Lady Jeanne Campbell, only daughter of the 11th Duke of Argyll, married Norman Mailer in 1962.

Brooke

[dpth...@gmail.com]

Probably it would be helpful if you provided a list of the ones of whom you are already aware. I started to compile a list but gave up after crossing back-and-forth among several existing lists and finding they were already listed. If I were to start again later in the week I wouldn't do it unless I could cross-check with one central list of ones you already have.

[S. S.]

I compiled the following list from Wikipedia, with a few additions/corrections from other sources: 

Before that, I also noted a Notes & Queries article that does list quite a few names (https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fnq%2FCLXIX.aug10.92), though it is not freely available to view other than the first page of the article and requires institutional access. Also note some entertainers who married a peer ended up marrying another as well, e.g. "Sylvia Ashley" with the Baron Stanley of Alderley and the Duke of Leinster, so I have to make that more obvious in a final list. 

Entertainers who married Peers:

1724. Anastasia Robinson (ca 1692-1755) and Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough (1658-1735).

1751. Lavinia Fenton (1708-1760) and Charles Powlett, 3rd Duke of Bolton (1685-1754).

1797. Elizabeth Farren (ca 1759-1829) and Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby (1752-1834).

1813. Mary Catherine Bolton (1790/91-1830) and Edward Hovell-Thurlow, 2nd Baron Thurlow (1781-1829).

1827. Harriet Mellon (1777-1837) and William Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk, 9th Duke of St Albans (1801-1849).

1819. Maria Foote (1797?-1867) and Charles Stanhope, 4th Earl of Harrington (1780-1851).

1838. Catherine “Kitty” Stephens (1794-1882) and George Capel-Coningsby, 5th Earl of Essex (1757-1839).

1840. Francis Elizabeth Anne Braham (1821-1879) and George Edward Waldegrave, 7th Earl Waldegrave (1816-46).

1847. Sarah “Louisa” Fairbrother (1814-1890) and HRH Prince George, 2nd Duke of Cambridge (1819-1904)[1].

1848. Julia Sarah Hayfield Fortescue (1817-1899) and Alan Legge Gardner, 3rd Baron Gardner (1810-1883).

1862. Harriette Georgiana Webster (1897) and Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baron Burnham (1833-1916).

1884. Dorothy Julia Haseley AKA “Dolly Tester” (d 1917) and George William Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 4th Marquess of Ailesbury (1863-1894).

1889. Isabel Maud Penrice Bilton AKA “Belle Bilton” (d 1906) and William Frederick Trench, 5th Earl of Clancarty [I] (1868-1929).

1892. Constance MacDonald Gilchrist AKA “Connie Gilchrist” (1865-1946) and Edmond Walter FitzMaurice, 7th Earl of Orkney [S] (1889-1951).

1894. Mary Augusta Yohé AKA “May Yohé” (1866-1938) and Henry Francis Hope Pelham-Clinton-Hope, 8th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne (1866-1941).

1901. Rosie Boote (1878-1958) and Geoffrey Thomas Taylour, 4th Marquess of Headfort (1878-1943).

1905. Anna Robinson (d 1917) and James Francis Harry St Clair-Erskine, 5th Earl of Rosslyn (1869-1939).

1907. Jessie Smither AKA “Denise Orme” (1885-1960) and John Reginald Lopes Yarde-Buller, 3rd Baron Churston 1873-1930).

1908. Sylvia Lillian Storey (1889-1947) and William John Lydston Poulett, 7th Earl Poulett (1883-1918).

1913. May Etheridge (d 1935) and Edward FitzGerald, 7th Duke of Leinster [I] (1892-1976).

1916. Leonora “Nora” Mary Parker (d aft 1927?) and Francis Ormond Henry Eaton, 4th Baron Cheylesmore (1893-1985).

1917. Irene Clarice Richards (1899-1977) and Francis Archibald Kelhead Douglas, 11th Marquess of Queensberry [S] (1896-1954).

1919. Mae Josephine Callicott AKA “Mae Picard” (d 1903) and Christian Arthur Wellesley, 4th Earl Cowley (189-1962).

1920. Charlotte Josephine Collins AKA “José Collins” (1887-1958) and James Henry Robert Innes-Ker, 7th Duke of Roxburghe [S] (1839-1892).

1924. Gertrude Millar AKA “Gertie Millar” (1879-1952) and William Humble Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley (1867-1932).

1925. Lidiya Vasilyevna Lopukhova (1891-1981) and John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes (1883-1946).

1929. June Tripp (1901-1985) and John Alan Burns, 4th Baron Inverclyde (1897-1957).

1933. Irma Amelia de Malkhozouny (d aft 1933?) and John Francis Godolphin Osborne, 11th Duke of Leeds (1901-1963).

1934. Minnie Mabel “Mimi” Forde Pigott (1897-1966) and Charles Henry George Howard, 13th Earl of Berkshire (1906-1941).

1935. Muriel Mary Swinstead AKA “Oriel Ross” (1907-1994) and George Amias FitzWarrine Poulett, 8th Earl Poulett (1909-1973).

1937. Virginia Cherrill (1908-1996) and George Francis Child-Villiers, 9th Earl of Jersey (1910-1998).

1944. Edith Louisa Hawkes AKA “Sylvia Ashley” (1904-1977) and Edward John Stanley, 6th Baron Stanley of Alderley (1907-1971).

1946. Jessie Smither AKA “Denise Orme” (1885-1960) and Edward FitzGerald, 7th Duke of Leinster [I] (1892-1976).

1958. Shirin Roshan Berry Quereshi (d aft 1967?) and Antony Patrick Andrew Cairne Berkeley Moynihan, 3rd Baron Moynihan (1936-1991).

1961. Maureen Swanson (1932-2011) and William Humble David Ward, 4th Earl of Dudley (1920-2013).

1984. Jamie Lee Curtis (b 1958) and Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest (b 1948).

1987. Tracy Louise Ward (b 1958) and Henry John FitzRoy Somerset, 12th Duke of Beaufort (b 1952).

1994. Louise Anne Beris Fiona Robey (b 1960) and Henry John FitzRoy Somerset, 12th Duke of Beaufort (b 1952).

2004. Allison Joy Langer (b 1974) and Charles Francis Topham de Vere Beauclerk (b 1965).

2009. Sophie Lara Winkleman (b 1980) and Lord Frederick Michael George David Louis Windsor (b 1979)[2].

2018. Meghan Rachel Markle (b 1981) and HRH Prince Henry Charles Albert David, 1st Duke of Sussex (b 1984).

---

[1] This marriage was declared invalid under the terms of the Royal Marriages Act 1772.

[2] He is the only son of HRH Prince Michael of Kent.

Entertainers who married Baronets

1819. Elizabeth O’Neill (1791-1872) and Sir William Wrixon-Becher, 1st Bt, of Ballygiblin Castle, co Cork (1780-1850).

1844. Louisa Cranstoun Nisbett (1812-1858) and Sir William Boothby, 8th Bt, of Broadlow Ash, Derbys (1782-1846).

1857. Emily Eliza Saunders (d 1875) and Sir William Henry Don, 7th Bt, of Newton [NS] (1825-1862).

1925. Irene Clarice Richards (1899-1977) and Sir James Hamet Dunn, 1st Bt, of Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada (1874-1956).

Entertainers who married children of peers

1824. Mary Ann Paton (1802-1864) and Lord William Lennox MP (1799-1881).

1932. Adele Marie Austerlitz AKA “Adele Astaire” (1896-1981) and Lord Charles Arthur Francis Cavendish (1905-1944)[1].

---

[1] He was the second son of Victor Christian William Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire.

Entertainers who married heirs apparent: 

1869. Lydia Anne Shippy (d 1908) and William Turnour Thomas Poulett, styled Viscount Hinton St George (1849-1909)[1].

1871. Kate Cooke and Henry James FitzRoy, styled Earl of Euston (1848-1912)[2].

1908. Ethel Rose Kendall (ca 1890-1931) and Lt Hon Maurice Henry Nelson Hood (1881-1915)[3].

1927. Edith Louisa Hawkes AKA “Sylvia Ashley” (1904-1977) and Anthony Ashley-Cooper, styled Baron Ashley (1900-1947)[4].

---

[1] In 1905, the Committee for Privileges rejected him as claimant to the Earldom of Poulett as the only son and heir apparent by the first wife of William Henry Poulett, 6th Earl Poulett. Although he was born in wedlock, the Committee for Privileges refused to be bound by the legal doctrine of “Pater est quem nuptiae demonstrant”, when there was evidence proving that the mother’s husband could not have been the father of the child. [S.S.]

[2] He was the eldest son and heir apparent of Augustus Charles Lennox FitzRoy, 7th Duke of Grafton.

[3] He was the only son and heir apparent of Arthur Wellington Alexander Nelson Hood, 2nd Viscount Bridport. Ethel would later be granted a Royal Warrant to hold the precedence as a widow of a viscount in 1925.

[4] He was eldest son and heir apparent of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 9th Earl of Shaftesbury. Edith would famously later go on to marry Douglas Fairbanks, the 6th Baron Stanley of Alderley, Clark Gable and finally Prince Dimitri Jorjadze, a Georgian nobleman and businessman. 

S.S.

[S. S.]

I forgot to mention, the first date for every entry is the year the marriage took place. 

S.S.

[S. S.]

Found two more for baronets: 

ca 1720 (aft 1714 but bef 1721). Susanna Cox (d 1721) and Sir Thomas Palmer, 4th Bt, of Wingham, Kent (1682-1723).

1792. Nanny Hawkins and Sir Henry Crewe (formerly Harpur), 7th Bt, of Calke Abbey, Derbys (1763-1819).

S.S.

[dpth...@gmail.com]

At the end of the Complete Peerage, there is a "GENERAL INDEX TO THE NOTES AND TO SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL MATTER
CONTAINED IN THE TEXT OF THE WORK, COMPILED BY THE HON. VICARY GIBBS, M.P."

Doing a word search through the index, the word "actress" can be found several times. You could probably cross-check those entries as well as the History of Parliament Online entries I mentioned earlier.

One I know about which does not seem to be on your list is Frances Belmont, who married Lord Ashburton.

[S. S.]

3 more also from Wikipedia:

1945. Sheila Beryl Grant Sim (1922-2016) and Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough [L] (1923-2014).

1949. Elspet Jean Gray (1929-2013) and and Brian Norman Roger Rix, Baron Rix [L] (1924-2016).

1931. Josephine Wilson (1904-1990) and Bernard James Miles, Baron Miles [L] (1907-1991).

S.S.

[bx...@yahoo.com]

Lady Margot Cholmondeley (1950-   ) daughter of the 6th Marquess of Cholmondeley and sister of the present Marquess, married Tony Huston  (1950-    ) in 1978.

Brooke

[bx...@yahoo.com]

Lady Carina Fitzalan Howard (b. 1952), daughter of the 17th Duke of Norfolk and sister of the present Duke, married Sir David Frost, the journalist, TV broadcaster/interviewer, writer, comedian  (d. 2013) in 1983.

Brooke

[colinp]

An actor and some actresses (or are they all actors now?):

Peers

(1925) – Mrs Ada Springate nee Hodgkinson (“Lynda Martell”), actress (d 1978) and (her 2nd m, his 2nd) the 3rd Baron Lyvedon (Courtenay Robert Percy Vernon) (himself a “member of the dramatic profession”) (1857-1926)

(1969) – Mrs Anna Abigail Pineau nee Gyarmarthy (“Anna Gael”), Hungarian – British actress and war correspondent (1943-2022) and (her 2nd m) the 7th Marquess of Bath (Alexander George Thynn) (1932-2020)

Baronets

(1899, div 1929) – Mrs Emily Charlotte Langtry nee le Breton (“Lillie Langtry”), Jersey born British socialite, stage actress and producer (1853-1929) and (her 2nd m, his 1st) Sir Hugo Gerald de Bathe, 5th Baronet (1871-1940)

(1932, div 1945) – Dorothy Katherine Standing (“Kay Hammond”), British stage and film actress (1909-1980) and (her 1st h, his 2nd) Sir Ronald George Leon, 3rd Baronet (1902-1964)

(1936, div 1946) – Geraldine Mary Fitzgerald (“Geraldine Fitzgerald”), Irish actress and producer (1913-2005) and (her 1st m, his 1st) Sir Edward William Lindsay-Hogg, 4th Baronet (1910-1999)

(1939, div 1952) – Babette Valerie Louise Hobson (“Valerie Hobson”), British actress (1917-1998) and (her 1st m, his 1st) Sir Anthony Havelock-Allen, 4th baronet (himself a film producer and Oscar nominee) (1904-2003)

(1971, div 1977) – Mrs Jenifer Samuel nee Puckle (“Beth Rogan”), British film actress and Rank Films starlet (1931-2015) and (her 3rd m, his 1st) Sir Timothy Felix Harold Cassel KC, 4th Baronet b 1942 - see children of peers V Bearsted below

(1977) – Mrs Marcella Teresa Maria Frye nee Scarafia (“Marla Landi”), Italian born British film actress and later TV presenter b 1933 and (her 3rd m, his 2nd) Sir Francis John Vernon Hereward Dashwood, 11th Baronet (of West Wycombe) (1925-2000)

 Children of peers

(1928, div 1937) – Hermione Youlanda Ruby Clinton Baddeley (“Hermione Baddeley”), British actress (1906-1986) and (her 1st m, his 1st) Hon David Pax Tennant (1902-1968) 2nd son of 1st Baron Glenconner

(1950) – Mrs Rosamund Lloyd nee Jones (“Rosamund John”), British film and stage actress (1913-1998) and (her 2nd m) Rt Hon John Ernest Silkin MP (1923-1987) yst son of the 1st Baron Silkin

(1962, div 1966) – Mrs Jenifer Draper nee Puckle (“Beth Rogan”), British film actress and Rank Films starlet (1931-2015) and (her 2nd m, his 2nd) Capt Hon Anthony Gerald Samuel (1917-2001) yst son of 2nd Viscount Bearsted – see Baronets Cassel above

(1981, div 1983) – Nicodemo Antonio Massimo Mancuso (“Nick Mancuso”), Italian-Canadian actor, artist, playwright and director b 1948 and (his 1st m, her 2nd) Lady Patricia Pariser nee Pelham-Clinton-Hope b 1949, herself a film actress, daughter of the 9th Duke of Newcastle

(2005) – Mrs Angharad Mary Casenove nee Rees CBE (“Angharad Rees”), British actress (Demelza in original Poldark) (1944-2012) and (her 2nd m, his 2nd) Hon David Malcolm McAlpine b 1946, son of Lord McAlpine of Moffat [L] 

[colinp]

a few more:

Peers

(1902, div 1906) – Isabel Emilie Jay (“Isabel Jay”), British opera singer and actress (1879-1927) and (her 1st m, his 1st) the 6th Baron Waterpark (Henry Sheppard Hart Cavendish) (1876-1948)

(1951) – Constance Vera Stevens (“Sally Gray”), film actress (1915-2006) and (his 3rd m) the 4th/2nd Baron Oranmore and Browne & Mereworth (Dominick Geoffrey Edward Browne) (1901-2002)

(1975) – Mrs Irene Lilian Posford nee Creese (“Rene Ray”) British stage and screen actress and also a novelist (1911-1993) and (her 2nd m, his 3rd) the 2nd and last Earl of Midleton MC (George St John Brodrick) (1888-1979)

Baronets

(1912, div 1922) – Violet Henrietta Powell, actress (d 1987) and (his 1st m) Sir William Willoughby Williams, 5th Baronet of Bodelwyddan (1888-1932)

(1962) – Virginia Elizabeth Maskell (“Virginia Maskell”) British actress (1936-1968) and (his 1st m) Sir Geoffrey Adam Shakerley, 6th Baronet (1932-2012)

[colinp]

S.S. - from your post above

2004. Allison Joy Langer (b 1974) and Charles Francis Topham de Vere Beauclerk (b 1965).

Should be (2005) Allison Joy Langer ["A J Langer"] (b 1974) and the 19th Earl of Devon (Charles Peregrine Courtenay) b 1975 ?

[S. S.]

Thanks colinp for your detailed additions. I correct the A. J. Langer entry, it would appear I messed up two entries and switched one another. 

S.S.

[bx...@yahoo.com]

The daughter of Hermione Baddeley and the Hon. David Tennant, Pauline Laetitia Tennant (1927-2008), was herself an actress and poet.  Her second husband, Euan Graham, was the grandson of the 5th Duke of Montrose.  They were married in 1954 and divorced in 1970.  Her third husband, Sir Anthony Rumbold, 10th Baronet married her in 1974, and they were married until his death in 1983.

Brooke

[bx...@yahoo.com]

I know this is a   little far removed (in terms of descent) for this particular post, but I found it interesting, as it involves an extremely well known actor.

David Niven's first wife, Primula Susan Rollo (1918-1946) was a paternal great-granddaughter of the 10th Lord Rollo and a maternal granddaughter of the 6th Marquess of Downshire.  They married in 1940 and she suffered a fatal fall 6 years later.

Brooke

[Paul Theroff]

"Hermione Youlanda Ruby Clinton Baddeley (“Hermione Baddeley”), British actress (1906-1986)"

Mrs Nawgatuck!   :)

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D. P. Theroff

[dpth...@gmail.com]

To flesh them out a bit more, here are some excerpts from the Walpole Correspondence about two of the actresses named above.

Lavina Beswick (Fenton)

"married 1751 Charles Powlett, 3rd Duke of Bolton, whose mistress she had been since her triumphal stage success in 1728 as Polly in The Beggar's Opera."

Walpole to Mann, 3 Feb 1760:

"The famous Polly Duchess of Bolton is dead, having after a life of merit relapsed into her Pollyhood. Two years ago, ill at Tunbridge, she picked up an Irish surgeon. When she was dying, this fellow sent for a lawyer to make her will, but the man finding who was to be her heir, instead of her children, refused to draw it. The Court of Chancery did furnish one other, not quite so scrupulous, and her three sons have but a thousand pounds apiece; the surgeon about nine thousand."



Elizabeth Farren [or Farran]

described by Walpole 12 Dec 1786 as "the first of all actresses". Lord Mount Edgcumbe wrote about her "When she left the stage, genteel comedy became extinct."

Walpole saw her often; he is known to have dined with her (at her home) 12 Nov 1790 (when Lord Derby and Lady Milner were the only other guests); shortly before 3 Apr 1791, when other guests included Kemble, Mrs Siddons, and Sir Charles and Lady Dorothy Hotham; on 23 Aug 1791; on 27 Sep 1793, with Gen. Seymour Conway and Lord Derby; and again shortly before 23 Nov 1793.

She and Lord Derby called on Walpole on 13 Dec 1793.

[dpth...@gmail.com]

James Cuffe, Lord Tyrawley. According to a note in the Corrigenda to Vol VII of Complete Peerage, "He is sometimes said (N & Q, 9th S., vol. i, p. 168) to have m. on her retiring from the stage, Miss Wewitzer, who first appeared at Covent Garden theatre, 14 Nov. 1776."


Aubrey de Vere, Earl of Oxford (1626-1703), according to a footnote in Complete Peerage, went through a "mock marriage" with the actress Elizabeth Davenport.


The 1st Earl of Craven married Louisa Brunton, an actress.

[dpth...@gmail.com]

1. James Cuffe, Lord Tyrawley. According to a note in the Corrigenda to Vol VII of Complete Peerage, "He is sometimes said (N & Q, 9th S., vol. i, p. 168) to have m. on her retiring from the stage, Miss Wewitzer, who first appeared at Covent Garden theatre, 14 Nov. 1776."

History of Parliament says that the Wewitzer marriage did not happen. At least it says that their son was illegitimate.

https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1790-1820/member/cuffe-james-1780-1828


2. https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1715-1754/member/finch-hon-john-1692-1763

FINCH, Hon. John (?1692-1763), of Bushey, Herts.
b. ?1692, 3rd s. of Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham and 7th Earl of Winchilsea...m. Elizabeth Younger, actress, 1da. (born before marriage).



3. HOWARD, Hon. Sir Robert (1626-98), of Ashtead, Surr. and New Palace Yard, Westminster
bap. 19 Jan. 1626, 6th s. of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Berkshire...m. (3) bef. June 1680, Mary Uphill, actress (d. 1682), da. of Jacob Uphill of Dagenham, Essex, s.p....

https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1690-1715/member/howard-hon-sir-robert-1626-98

[dpth...@gmail.com]

Lord Delfont married 1946 Carole Lynne, actress.

[bx...@yahoo.com]

Rose Eleanor Arbuthnot-Leslie, known professionally as "Rose Leslie", married Christopher Catesby Harington, known professionally as "Kit Harington" in 2018.

Kit is the son of Sir David Harington, 15th Bt.

Brooke

[colinp]

Some more:

Peers

(1960) – Mrs Winifred Ruby Morgan nee Moule (“Vanessa Lee”), actress and singer (1920-1992) and (her 2nd m) the 7th Baron Graves (Peter George Wellesley Graves), himself an actor (1911-1994)

Baronets

(1920) – Lydia Borisovna de Hubbenet, Princess Baryatinskiy (“Lydia Yavorskaya”), Ukrainian/Russian stage actress (1871-1921) and (her 2nd m, his 1st) Sir Frederick John Pollock, 4th baronet (1878-1963)

(1937, div 1940) – Mrs Tamara Wilhelm nee Brodsky (“Tamara Desni”), German born British film actress (1913-2008) and (her 2nd m, his 1st) Sir Bruce Lovat Seton, 11th Baronet (1909-1969), himself an actor

(1971, div 1976) – Deborah Jane Snelling (“Deborah Grant”), British actress b 1947 and (her 1st m, his 1st) Sir Coles John Jeremy Child, 3rd Baronet (1944-2022) himself an actor as Jeremy Child

 

Children of peers

(1957, div 1969) – Richard St John Harris, Irish actor and singer (1930-2002 and (his 1st m, her 1st) Hon Joan Elizabeth Rees-Williams (1936-2022) daughter of the 1st Baron Ogmore (see also 1971 below)

(1964) – Terence Joseph Brady, Irish writer, actor and painter (1939-2016) and Hon Charlotte Mary Therese Bingham b 1942, daughter of the 7th Baron Clanmorris

(1971, div 1975) – Sir Rex Carey Harrison, actor, My Fair Lady (1908-1990) and (his 5th, her 2nd) Hon Mrs Joan Elizabeth Harris (1936-2022) daughter of the 1st Baron Ogmore (see also 1957 above)

(1975) – Alexandra Altamirano, actress and Hon Guy Anthony Baliol Brett (1942-2021) son of the 4th Viscount Esher

(1980, div 1982) – Thomas Stewart Baker, British actor and writer (Dr Who) b 1934 and (his 2nd m, her 1st) Hon Sarah Ward b 1951, herself an actress as Lalla Ward, daughter of the 7th Viscount Bangor

(1998) – Benjamin Mark Pullen, Swiss born actor b 1972 and Hon Sarah Helen Spens b 1970, daughter of the 3rd Baron Spens

(1999) – Sean Carl Roland Pertwee, actor, narrator and producer b 1964 and Hon Jacqueline Jane Hamilton-Smith b 1967, daughter of the 3rd Baron Colwyn

(2013) – Louis Alexander Philip Waymouth, writer and actor b 1978 and Lady Eloise Anne Elizabeth Anson b 1981 daughter of the 5th Earl of Lichfield

(2022) – Kelly Frye, American actress and Hon Nicholas Robin Campbell b 1986, son of the 4th Baron Colgrain

[dpth...@gmail.com]

Maria Emma Georginia Preston, ex-wife of the 4th Earl of Desart, married and later divorced Charles Sugden, an actor.

[bx...@yahoo.com]

Will we be adding Sophie Turner and  the Hon Peregrine Pearson to the list?  

Only time will tell.

Brooke

[992234177]

Hon Maurice Vyner Baliol Brett 2nd son of 2nd Viscount Esher married Zena Dare.   After her marriage she acted with Noel Coward, Ivor Novello, and with Julie Andrew’s in the original production of My Fair Lady.

[bx...@yahoo.com]

A little more remote--

Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg ("Diana Rigg" ) (1938-2020)  married in 1982 (div.1990) to Archibald Hugh ("Archie") Stirling, Laird of Keir (1941-  ), a theatrical producer, paternal great-grandson of both the 13th Lord Lovat and Sir William Stirling-Maxwell, 9th Baronet, and a maternal great-grandson of the 8th Earl of Darnley.

Brooke

[bx...@yahoo.com]

Linda Purl (b. 1955) married Hon. Lucius Alexander Plantagenet Cary (b. 1963)  the Master of Falkland, son and heir apparent to the current (15th) Viscount  Falkland in 1993.  They divorced in 1999.

Their son, Lucius Jackson (b. 1995) is second in the line of succession behind his father.

Ms. Purl's first husband was actor Desi Arnaz, Jr, the son of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Sr.

Brooke

[dpth...@gmail.com]

I should have remembered this one earlier, having read about it often:

Lady Susannah Fox-Strangways married 1764 William O'Brien, an actor. She features prominently in some sections of the Lady Sarah Lennox letters.


Walpole to Mann, 9 April 1764:
 "A melancholy affair has happened to Lord Ilchester; his eldest daughter, Lady Susan, a very pleasing girl, though not handsome, married herself two days ago at Covent Garden church to Obrien, a handsome young actor. Lord Ilchester doted on her, and was the most indulgent of fathers. 'Tis a cruel blow"

Walpole to Lord Hertford, 12 April 1764:
"You will have heard of the sad misfortune that has happened to Lord Ilchester by his daughter's marriage with O'Brien the asctor. But, perhaps you do not know the circumstances, and how much his grief must be aggravated by reflection on his own creduilty and negligence. The affair has been in train for eighteen months. The swain had learned to counterfeit Lady Sarah Bunbury's hand so well, that in the country Lord Ilchester has himself delivered several of O'Brien's letters to Lady Susan; but it was not till about a week before the catastrophe that the family was apprised of the intrigue. Lord  Cathcart  went  to  Miss  Reade's,  the  paintress -- she  said softly  to  him --  'My  lord,  there  is  a  couple  in  next  room  that  I am  sure  ought  not  to  be  together,  I  wish  your  lordship  would look  in.'  He  did,  shut  the  door  again,  and  went  directly  and informed  Lord  Ilchester.  Lady  Susan  was  examined,  flung herself  at  her  father's  feet,  confessed  all,  vowed  to  break  off — but — what  a  but! — desired  to  see  the  loved  object,  and  take  a last  leave.  You  will  be  amazed — even  this  was  granted.  The parting  scene  happened  the  beginning  of  the  week.  On  Friday she  came  of  age,  and  on  Saturday  morning — instead  of  being under  lock  and  key  in  the  country — walked  down  stairs,  took her  footman,  said  she  was  going  to  breakfast  with  Lady  Sarah, but  would  call  at  Miss  Reade's ;  in  the  street,  pretended  to recollect  a  particular  cap  in  which  she  was  to  be  drawn,  sent the  footman  back  for  it,  whipped  into  a  hackney  chair,  was married  at  Covent-garden  church,  and  set  out  for  Mr.  O'Brien's villa  at  Dunstable..."

"Poor Lord Ilchester is almost distracted; indeed, it is the completion of disgrace —­even a footman were preferable; the publicity of the hero’s profession perpetuates the mortification.  Il ne sera pas milord, tout comme un autre.  I could not have believed that Lady Susan would have stooped so low.  She may, however, still keep good company, and say, “nos numeri sumus”—­ Lady Mary Duncan, Lady Caroline Adair, Lady Betty Gallini—­the shopkeepers of next age will be mighty well born.  If our genealogies had been so confused four hundred years ago, Norborne Berkeley would have had still more difficulty with his obsolete Barony of Bottelourt, which the House of Lords at last has granted him."

Of the other ladies mentioned who made what were considered odd matches: Lady Mary Tufton married William Duncan, a doctor, but later a Baronet; Lady Caroline Keppel married Robert Adair, a surgeon; and Lady Betty Bertie married Giovanni [or John] Andrea Gallini, a dancing master and manager of the Italian Opera in London, later created a papal knight.

[dpth...@gmail.com]

Hon. Elizabeth Montagu, sister of 4th Earl of Sandwich, married William Smith, an actor.


In more modern times:

Georgina Carolin Eve Butler (22 Sep 1931-25 May 2017), gdau of 7th Earl of Carrick; ...m.3rd 7 May 1969 James Alan Short (d.2001, the actor Jimmy Logan)

David Niven married Primula Susan [of the Barons] Rollo.

Raymond Massey married Margery Hilda Fremantle, of the Lords Cottesloe.

Simon Ward married Alexandra Mary, gdau of Sir James Malcolm, 9th Bt.

On Monday, October 28, 2024 at 12:46:04 PM UTC-5 dpth...@gmail.com wrote:

[dpth...@gmail.com]

I guess that before the early 1900s it was considered remarkable if an aristocrat married someone in show business, but now it is quite common and probably not worthy of notice. In fact, there seem to be a lot of members of aristocratic families who themselves are actors these days, which would constitute quite a big list itself.

My unsolicited suggestion would be, if you intend to make this topic a section of your book, you restrict it to not later than about 1950, if not 1900.

[bx...@yahoo.com]

Grace Patricia Kelly (1929-1982) married in 1956, Prince Rainier III of Monaco (1923-2005), a 2xgreat-grandson of the 11th Duke of Hamilton and 8th Duke of Brandon.

Brooke

[dpth...@gmail.com]

As for Lady Susan O'Brien, mentioned above, Lady Sarah Bunbury {née Lennox) wrote to her right after the elopement:

"P.S. - They do not suspect I ever knew a word of it , but I told them you had told me all , since they had discover'd it , for that it was impossible to pass your tooth ache on me ; I can keep to this very easily , & I will never own the rest if I am not asked possitively about it , for it will do no good to anybody & a great deal of harm to me in their opinion , tho ' I hope you will own I try'd to prevent what I hope in God will turn out better than is likely ( in all human probability ) this unfortunate step will . "

[S. S.]

It would appear that as of the latest posting, I have noted the following marriages of entertainers with members of the British Peerage and Baronetage: 

Entertainers who married Peers: 49 in total

Entertainers who married Baronets: 18 in total

Entertainers who married Heirs Apparent of Peers: 5 in total

Entertainers who married children of Peers and Baronets: 22 in total

You are right Paul, it would appear it has become increasingly common to marry entertainers after the start of the 20th century. It has become commonplace and unremarkable. I think the above numbers are a good elucidation of that trend for this appendix. 

Thank you to all who have contributed as always!

S.S.

[colinp]

Peers

(1939, div 1947) – Mrs Ottilie Ethel Leopoldine James nee Losch (“Tillie Losch”), Austrian born dancer, choreographer, painter and actress (1903-1975) and (her 2nd, his 2nd) the 6th Earl of Carnarvon (1898-1987)

(1972, div 1989) Doreen Patricia Wells, former principal dancer at Royal Ballet and (his 2nd m) the 9th Marquess of Londonderry (1937-2012)

(2014) Nathalie Georgeanna Harrison, dancer, choreographer and formerly First Artist with Royal Ballet and the 3rd Baron Birkett b 1982

[bx...@yahoo.com]

A little bit off topic, but one actor that is himself a current hereditary peer, is Charles Shaughnessy, the 5th Baron Shaughnessy.  

He is best known here in the US for his longtime roll as Maxwell Sheffield in the hit comedy "The Nanny", (with Fran Drescher) and for his longtime  roll on the soap opera Days of Our Lives.

"The Nanny" has been in reruns for several years since it went off the air, and it's still amusing  to realize that he is an actual  Peer of the Realm.

Brooke

[colinp]

My last batch:

Peers

(1949, div 1967) – Maria Donata Nanetta Paulina Gustava Erwina Wilhelmina Stein CBE (“Marion Stein”), Austrian born concert pianist (1926-2014) and (her 1st m, his 1st) the 7th Earl of Harewood KBE (George Henry Hubert Lascelles) (1923-2014)

(1967) – Mrs Patricia Elizabeth Shmith nee Tuckwell, Australian-British violinist (1926-2018) and (her 2nd m, his 2nd) the 7th Earl of Harewood KBE (George Henry Hubert Lascelles) (1923-2014)

Baronets

(1920) Beatrice Gladys Lillie, Canadian born comedienne, actress and singer (“the funniest woman in the world”) (1894-1989) and Sir Robert Peel, 5th Baronet (1898-1934)

(1982, div 1986) – Bertice Reading, American actress, singer and revue artiste (1933-1991) and (her 3rd m (?), his 2nd) Sir Thomas Richard Valentine Blake, 17th Baronet of Menlough (1942-2008)

Children of peers

(1999) – Joy Elias-Rilwan, actress b 1954 and (her 2nd m (?), his 3rd) Hon James Edward Lascelles b 1953 son of the 7th Earl of Harewood 

[David Beamish]

In S.S.'s category 1 I would add the ballerina Anya Linden (born 1933), who married in 1963 John Sainsbury (1927–2022) who in 1989 was created Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover.

Also the classical pianist Rosalind Runcie née Turner (1932–2012), who married in 1957 Robert Runcie (1921–2000), who was later Archbishop of Canterbury and subsequently created Lord Runcie.

And maybe Hilary Wilson (1903–1979), wife of the 5th Earl of Munster, described by Wikipedia as a "gifted pianist", who established the Countess of Munster Musical Trust.

[bx...@yahoo.com]

Lady Caroline Maureen Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood (1931-1996), daughter of the 4th Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, and herself a novelist and journalist, was married to 3 different creative men:  first, the artist Lucien Michael Freud (m. 1953, div 1957), who died in 2011; second, the composer Israel Citkowitz (m. 1959, div 1972), who died in 1974) and finally, to the poet Robert Traill Spence Lowell, who died in 1977.

Further, her daughter from her second marriage,  Evgenia Citkowitz (b. 1964), and thus, a granddaughter of the 4th Marquess, was the wife of the late actor Julian Sands, who died in 2023.  They were married in 1990.

Brooke

[BREMENMURRAY]

Denise Orme as well as being Premier Duchess of Ireland was mother of Lydia Duchess of Bedford and Primrose Countess Cadogan grandmother of the present Earl. Denise Orme was also grandmother of the present Aga Khan IV

[dpth...@gmail.com]

One additional one:

Lady Henrietta Waldegrave (1717-1753), widow of Lord Edward Herbert, married secondly one John Beard, an actor. The Beard marriage was ignored in early genealogies, which is a fact apparently noted in Beard's entry in DNB.

I came across this actor marriage in relation to the following interesting anecdote, wherein Horace Walpole recounts having met seven generations of the same family!

"There is indeed a circumstance that makes me think myself an antediluvian: I have literally seen seven descents in one family -- I do not believe Oglethorpe [who was then 88] can boast of recollecting a longer genealogy. In short, I was schoolfellow of the two last Earls of Waldegrave, and used to go to play with them in the holidays when I was about twelve years old. They lived with their grandmother, natural daughter of James the Second. One evening while I was there, came in her mother, Mrs. Godfrey, that King’s mistress —- ancient, in truth, and so superannuated that she scarce seemed to know where she was. I saw her another time in her chair in St. James’s park, and have a perfect idea of her face, which was pale, round, and sleek. Begin with her; then count her daughter, Lady Waldegrave; then the latter's son, the Ambassador; his daughter, Lady Harriot Beard; her daughter, the present Dowager Countess of Powis; and her daughter, Lady Clive—- there are six: and the last now lies in of a son, and might have done so six or seven years ago, had she married at fourteen. When one has beheld such a pedigree, one may say, “And yet I am but sixty-seven!”

[bx...@yahoo.com]

I found this one, but I'm not sure if it had been previously mentioned:

Actress Felicity Constance TREE (1894-1978), daughter of the actor Sir Herbert Beerbohm TREE,  married Sir Geoffrey CORY-WRIGHT, later 3rd Baronet (1892-1969) on November 10, 1915.

Brooke

[S. S.]

The rather lengthy entry for John Beard's career can be found in Philip H. Highfill (ed), A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians..., i, 424-430.

Hathi Trust has all the volumes of the work available for viewing (https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000149271)

S.S.

[dpth...@gmail.com]

There is an interesting note in Appendix C of Part XII/1 of the 1953 edition of Complete Peerage:

"In earlier volumes the reader has often been referred to Appendix C in vol. XII on Peers who married Actresses, Singers or Dancers. However, as in every instance when a peer has married a lady having any profession or business that fact has been duly noted in the body of this work, it seems unnecessary to repeat the information; nor does there appear to be any reason for singling out a connection with the stage as of more importance than any other occupation. Moreover the proposed list has now been forestalled to a very large extent by an article on "Peers who have married players," by J. M. Bulloch, which appeared in Notes and Queries, 10 August 1935 [N. and Q., vol. 169, pp. 92-94]. In these circumstances the Editor does not feel justified in devoting more space to the subject.”

 

On Wednesday, October 30, 2024 at 2:30:29 PM UTC-5 dpth...@gmail.com wrote:

[dpth...@gmail.com]

That Notes and Queries article can be read here:

https://archive.org/details/sim_notes-and-queries_1935-08-10_169_6/page/92/mode/2up

[S. S.]

Thanks, I found a few more names to add to that list that I missed.

S.S.

[colinp]

Potentially one could mention Collen Celeste Camp b 1953, American actress and producer, engaged to Hon Garrett Moore b 1986 son of the 12th and present Earl of Drogheda

[BREMENMURRAY]

The actress Ann Jones was married to the present Marquess of Queensbury and subsequently known as Ann Queensbury

[colinp]

The Complete Peerage 2nd ed: listed an Appendix C to Vol 12A "Peers who married actresses, singers or dancers" but in fact there is no content to the appendix other than a note reading:

"In earlier Volumes the reader has often been referred to App C in Vol XII on Peers who married Actresses, Singers or Dancers. However, as in every instance when a peer has married a lady having any profession or business that fact has been duly noted in the body of this work, it seems unnecessary to repeat the information; nor does there appear to be any reason for singling out a connection with the stage as of more importance than any other occupation.  Moreover the proposed list has now been forestalled to a very large extent by an article on "Peers who have married players" by J. M. Bulloch, which appeared in Notes and Queries, 10 August 1935 [N & Q Vol 169 pp 92-94].  In these circumstances the Editor does not feel justified in devoting more space to the subject"

The editor of the Complete Peerage 3rd ed: has felt so justified and evidently a list will appear as Appendix 109 of the new edition to appear in either volumes 17 or 18.

[colinp]

This is a link (I hope) to the relevant N&Q issue

Notes and Queries 1935-08-10: Vol 169 Iss 6 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

[S. S.]

I have expanded that list since. Here is a draft life of my own appendix. Already a lot of names.

S.S.