Gwyn, Nell

Gwyn, Nell (1650-1687), English actress, and mistress of Charles II. Gwyn (also spelled Gwynn) was born Eleanor Gwyn either in London or Hereford. As a child she sold oranges outside the Drury Lane Theatre in London; she became an actress at the age of 15. Her first known stage appearance was in The Indian Emperor (1665) by the English dramatist John Dryden. She was well suited to the vivacious feminine roles common in Restoration comedies, and Dryden wrote several plays with roles especially for her. She was the mistress of the king from about 1669 until his death in 1685. Although almost completely illiterate, she was a favourite in London society, and the English diarist Samuel Pepys described her as “pretty, witty Nell”. She bore the king two sons, Charles Beauclerk, Duke of St Albans, and James Beauclerk.