Edna May

Edna May Pettie, known professionally as Edna May, was an American actress and singer born on September 2, 1878, in Syracuse, New York, to Edgar and Cora Petty, who later changed the family surname to Pettie. Her father worked as a postman, and she grew up alongside siblings Adelbert, Jennie, and Marguerite. May's involvement in performance began in early childhood: at age five she appeared as Little Willie Allen in a production of Dora, and by seven she had joined a children's opera company in Syracuse, performing Gilbert and Sullivan works. As a teenager she pursued formal training at the New York Conservatoire.

May made her professional debut in 1895 in Si Stebbings in Syracuse before relocating to New York City, where she took the small role of Clairette Styrberg in Oscar Hammerstein's Broadway production Santa Maria. That same year she married Fred Titus, a cyclist who held a world record; the marriage produced no children and ended in divorce in 1904. In 1897 she played Violet Grey in The Belle of New York, a production that met with only moderate success in New York but became a major hit when it transferred to London the following year, running for 697 performances and establishing May as a star.

Her Broadway career spanned from 1896 to 1905 and encompassed a range of musical productions. She played Olga in The Girl from Up There in New York in 1901 before the show moved to London, and she portrayed Lillian Leigh in The School Girl during its 1903–1904 run in both London and New York. Additional Broadway credits included The Girl from Utah, The Talk of New York, and The Catch of the Season, in which she played Angela in New York in 1905. Beyond Broadway, May appeared as Gabrielle Dalmonte in An American Beauty in London in 1900, as Edna Branscombe in Three Little Maids in 1902, as Say-So-San in The Darling of the Guards in London in 1904, and as Alesia in La poupée in London that same year. The Belle of Mayfair followed in London in 1906, and in 1907 she played the title role in Nelly Neil, also in London.

In 1907, May married millionaire Oscar Lewisohn and retired from the stage. The couple settled in England, where they had no children. Lewisohn died in 1917. During her retirement May lived at Winkfield in Berkshire, though she made limited returns to performance, including benefit performances of The Belle of New York at London's Savoy Theatre in 1911 and an appearance in The Masque of Peace and War in London in 1915. She also appeared in the 1911 film Forgotten; or An Answered Prayer and starred in the 1916 film Salvation Joan, donating the proceeds to charity.

Throughout her career May was widely recognized for her beauty and attracted considerable public attention, becoming a popular postcard subject. She died on January 1, 1948, in Lausanne, Switzerland, at the age of 69.