Laura Keene (1826 – November 4, 1873) was an Anglo-American actress and manager, whose real name was Mary Frances Moss. She was a niece of the British actress Elizabeth Yates. She was born in Winchester, England. She married, in 1844, Henry Wellington Taylor, by whom she had two children, Emma Elija and Clara Stella, before her husband abandoned the family. Her second husband was John Lutz. In 1851, in London, she was playing Pauline in The Lady of Lyons. She made her first appearance in New York on September 20, 1852, on her way to Australia. She returned in 1855 and managed Laura Keene's Theatre until 1863, in which was produced, in 1859, Our American Cousin. It was her company that was playing at Ford's Theatre, Washington, on the night of Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Keene was a successful melodramatic actress, and an admirable manager. Most of the last 10 years of her career she continued to direct her traveling company. [1] She died at Montclair, New Jersey.
Publications
- Creahan, The Life of Laura Keene (Philadelphia, 1897)
