Years active
1870-1908
Stage Name(s)
Ella Wesner
Category
Male Impersonator
Country of Origin
USA
Birth – Death
1841 – 1917
Bio
Ella Wesner was from a family of ballet dancers and began her career in children’s ballet corps in Philadelphia (1). Before she was thirty, and prior to her career as a male impersonator, she was […]
Years active
1869 – 1920
Stage Name(s)
Vesta Tilley
Category
Male Impersonator
Country of Origin
United Kingdom
Birth – Death
1864 – 1952
Bio
Vesta Tilley, indisputably the most famous male impersonator of all time, was one of the highest paid performers in the British Music Halls during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. She accomplished six […]
Wien Museum, Inventarnummer HMW 66392/435
Years active
1865 – 1892
Stage Name(s)
Josefine Schmer
Category
Male Impersonator
Country of Origin
AUSTRIA
Birth – Death
1842 – 1904
Bio
Josefine Schmer was a Viennese folk singer, dancer and male impersonator in the latter half of […]
Years active
1864 – 1975
Stage Name(s)
Eugenie Fiocre
Category
En Travasti
Country of Origin
France
Birth – Death
1845 – 1908
Bio
Eugenie Fiocre was a principal ballet dancer in the Paris Opera. She was known for her beauty, grace and talent. She often took on male roles called en travesti due to the shortage […]
Years active
1864-1904
Stage Name(s)
Annie Hindle
Category
Male Impersonator
Country of Origin
United Kingdom
Birth – Death
1847- ca. 1904
Bio
Annie Hindle was the first male impersonator to appear on variety stages in the US. She came to the US in 1868 arriving from England where she had gained performance experience at the English […]
Years active
1862-1901
Stage Name(s)
Bessie Bonehill
Category
Male Impersonator
Country of Origin
United Kingdom
Birth – Death
1855 – 1902
Bio
Bessie Bonehill claimed to be the first male impersonator in the English music halls and ‘is one of the first male impersonators who ventured into America variety’ (1). In 1889 she was invited by […]
Years active
1835 – 1875
Stage Name(s)
Charlotte Cushman
Category
Breeches Roles; Male Impersonator
Country of Origin
USA
Birth – Death
1816 – 1876
Bio
In 1835, Charlotte Cushman made her stage debut in opera at the age of 18. She is considered one of America’s first greatest actresses with a career spanning 40 years. She […]
Years active
1825 – 1859
Stage Name(s)
Mary Anne Keeley
Category
Breeches role, Male Impersonator
Country of Origin
United Kingdom
Birth – Death
1805 – 1899
Bio
Mary Anne Keeley, well respected British actress, was best known for her portrayal of Jack Sheppard, London’s notorious short-lived thief and jail breaker who died in 1724 at the […]
Years active
1815 – 1854
Stage Name(s)
Madame Vestris
Category
Breeches role, En travesti
Country of Origin
United Kingdom
Birth – Death
1797 – 1856
Bio
In 1815, Madame Vestris began her stage career in the Italian opera II ratto di Proserpina by Peter Winter at the King’s Theatre. In 1820, she played her first breeches […]
Years active
1791-1795
Stage Name // Legal/Birth Name
Euphrosyne Löf
Category
Breeches Roles
Country of Origin
Sweden
Day Birth – Day Death
1772-1828
Bio
In 1791, Euphrosyne Löf made her successful stage debut at The Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, Sweden. Euphrosyne was among one of the first well-known Swedish actresses to play a breeches role. […]
Years active
1790 – 1800
Stage Name(s)
Lisette Stenberg
Category
Breeches Role
Country of Origin
Sweden
Birth – Death
1770 – 1847
Bio
Lisette Stenberg was a Swedish opera singer, stage actress and pianist. In 1790, she took on a breeches role as Marquis Razilli in Bertin d’Antilly’s play L’Anglais à Paris to great acclaim. Lisette […]
Years active
1787 – 1810
Stage Name(s)
Inga Aberg
Category
Breeches Role
Country of Origin
Sweden
Birth – Death
1773 – 1837
Bio
Inga Aberg was a Swedish actress in The Royal Dramatic Theatre and an opera singer in The Royal Swedish Opera between 1787 to 1810. On May 31, 1787 at the age of fourteen, […]
Years active
1785 – 1811
Stage Name(s)
Elisabet Forsselius, Elisabet Haeffner, Elisabet Fahlgren
Category
Breeches Roles
Country of Origin
Sweden
Birth – Death
1771 – 1850
Bio
Elisabet Forsselius was a Swedish actress and opera singer who belonged to the esteemed group of performers who began The Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, Sweden in 1788 led […]
Years active
1690 – 1705
Stage Name(s)
Mademoiselle de Maupin, La Maupin
Category
Breeches Roles
Country of Origin
France
Birth – Death
1673 – 1707
Bio
Mademoiselle de Maupin was born Julie D’Aubigny around the year 1673 in Paris, France. Despite living a mere 33 years, her life was filled with adventure, intrigue, danger and torrid […]
Years active
1688 – 1709
Stage Name // Legal/Birth Name
Anne Bracegirdle
Country of Origin
United Kingdom, England
Category
Breeches Roles
Day Birth – Day Death
1673 – 1748
Bio
She was the daughter of Martha and Justinian Bracegirdle, who was believed to be a coachman. There are conflicting records on Anne’s life so the precise date […]
Years active
1685-1723
Stage Name(s)
Susanna Centlivre
Category
Breeches Roles
Country of Origin
United Kingdom
Day Birth – Day Death
c. 1669 – 1723
Bio
Susanna Centlivre was an actress, poet, and playwright. She was widely considered one of the most influential female playwrights of the eighteenth century. Several of her plays remained popular well into […]
Years active
1681-1703
Stage Name(s)
Susanna Percival, Susanna Mountfort, Susanna Verbruggen
Category
Breeches Roles
Country of Origin
United Kingdom
Birth – Death
1667–1703
Bio
Susanna Verbruggen was a successful and popular actress especially known for playing breeches roles during the English Restoration. Her acclaim was playing a stock character, the Restoration rake, which was a womanising […]
Years active
1679 – 1709
Stage Name(s)
Anne Bracegirdle
Category
Breeches Roles
Country of Origin
United Kingdom
Birth – Death
1673 – 1748
Bio
In 1679, Anne Bracegirdle began her acting career at the age of six playing the role of page boy in Mustapha, and in 1680, she again played the role of the page […]
Years active
1603 – c.1629
Stage Name(s)
Izumo no Okuni 出雲阿国
Category
Male Impersonator
Country of Origin
Japan
Birth – Death
1572 – Unknown
Bio
Izumo no Okuni was an alternative performer who dressed as an outsider man (in Japanese : Kabuki mono / 傾奇者, the one leaning to the weird side). Okuni led her own […]
Years Active
c. 1600’s
Stage Name(s)
Mary Frith, Moll Cutpurse, Mal Cutpurse
Category
Male Impersonator, Cross-Dresser
Country of Origin
England
Birth – Death
c.1584 – July 26, 1659
Bio
Mary Frith—better known as Moll Cutpurse—was one of early modern London’s most audacious performers: a lifelong wearer of masculine dress, a public entertainer, a notorious thief-entrepreneur, and […]