Mrs Patrick Campbell

Mrs Patrick Campbell (1865-1940), English actress, for whom Irish-born playwright George Bernard Shaw wrote a leading role in Pygmalion (1912). She was born Beatrice Stella Tanner in London, England, and used her husband's name as her stage name.

Campbell's first important stage success was in 1893 in the title role of The Second Mrs Tanqueray by British author Sir Arthur Wing Pinero. She was noted for her performances of the roles of Juliet, Ophelia, and Lady Macbeth in the plays of English poet and dramatist William Shakespeare. She also appeared in a number of dramas by Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, the most notable being the title role in Hedda Gabler in 1907. Campbell made several tours of the United States; she retired from the stage in 1938. She wrote an autobiography, My Life and Some Letters (1922). Her lively correspondence with Shaw was published in 1952.