Margaret Anglin

Who was Margaret Anglin?

Mary Margaret Anglin was a Canadian-born Broadway actress, director and producer whom Encyclopædia Britannica calls "one of the most brilliant actresses of her day."

Margaret Anglin was born in Ottawa, Ontario, the youngest of nine children of newspaper editor and politician Timothy Warren Anglin by his second wife, Miss Ellen MacTavish. At the time of her birth in Ottawa, April 3, 1876, he was the Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons. Her older brother, Francis Alexander Anglin served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1924 to 1933.

She was educated at Loretto Abbey, Toronto, and at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Montreal. She graduated from the Empire School of Dramatic Acting, New York, in 1894, where she studied under Nelson Wheatcroft. Her acting skills brought the attention of theatre impresario Charles Frohman who provided her with the opportunity to make her professional stage debut in 1894 in the Bronson Howard production of "Shenandoah."

An injury sustained while out riding laid her up for some months. In 1896 she became leading lady with James O'Neill, and toured with him in the United States and Canada.