User:OttawaAC/Julia Dean Actress 1830 to 1869

Julia Dean (1830-1869) - American actress.

From a distinguished theatrical family. Mother was the daughter of an actor/manager, and a star in her own right in the provincial theater of the West. Father was also an actor, and her 2nd husband, while an aunt trod the boards as well. Youngest of 2 daughters, losing her mother when she was 2. Brought up by her father’s relatives in a Quaker household. Rejoined his company at 11, after he had remarried, in order to serve her acting apprenticeship in his theaters. Made her debut in NYC at 15, then toured extensively, while her fame and stature as an actress grew. Unhappily married Arthur Hayne, the abusive and alcoholic son of a senator, 4 children from the union, 2 dying in infancy. Stayed mostly in the West for the decade of her marriage, then separated from her husband, and divorced him at the end of this period. Married James Cooper, a federal official in her mid-30s and came back East with him to continue her career on the stage, but died unexpectedly after childbirth in her late 30s. Had a facility for winning over audiences, despite somewhat limited skills. Inner: Gentle, intelligent, unpretentious. Act out lifetime of suffering most of her drama off-stage, while taking her limited skills as far as she could, before exiting stage left to pursue a far more independent existence in her next go-round, allowing her career to flourish unencumbered by family and mates.