Ellis Jeffreys

Ellis Jeffreys, born Minnie Gertrude Ellis Jeffreys on 12 May 1868 in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), was an English actress who built a distinguished career on both the London stage and Broadway. The daughter of Captain Dodsworth Jeffreys and his wife Elizabeth, née Corcor, she made her professional debut in 1889 with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in the chorus of The Yeomen of the Guard at the Savoy Theatre, London. Later that same year she appeared at Her Majesty's Theatre as Butterfly in the pantomime Cinderella. She subsequently joined the Lyric Theatre, where she played Polly in The Sentry and took on several leading female roles during the extended run of the operetta La Cigale.

In the early 1890s Jeffreys became a member of Charles Wyndham's company at the Criterion Theatre, appearing in a succession of productions including The Bauble Shop, The Fringe of Society, The Headless Man, Betsy, Madame Favart, La Mascotte, and Haste to the Wedding. A significant career milestone came in 1895 at the Garrick Theatre, where she created the role of Mrs Gertrude Thorpe in The Notorious Mrs Ebbsmith alongside Mrs Patrick Campbell, John Hare, Johnston Forbes-Robertson, and Gerald du Maurier. When Hare transferred the production to the United States, Jeffreys joined the Broadway cast, which also included Julia Neilson and Fred Terry.

Returning to England, Jeffreys appeared at the St James's Theatre in The Misogynist with George Alexander and Allan Aynesworth, then continued under Alexander's management in The Prisoner of Zenda, holding her role until October 1896 when she handed it over to Fay Davis. She remained with Alexander's company for His Little Dodge, an adaptation of a Feydeau farce in which she played Lady Miranda alongside Fred Terry, Weedon Grossmith, and Alfred Maltby. In 1894 she had married the Hon Frederick Graham Curzon, younger son of the 3rd Earl Howe, though she did not retire from the stage following the marriage. The union ended in 1903 when she obtained a divorce on grounds of Curzon's cruelty and adultery and was awarded custody of their two children, Evelyn Ellis Isabella and George, who later became an actor. In 1904 she married the actor-manager Herbert Sleath, with whom she remained until his death in 1921.

Between 1895 and 1906 Jeffreys made several visits to the United States, appearing both on Broadway and in national tours. Her Broadway credits during the 1905–1906 period included The Prince Consort, in which she played Queen Sonia; The Fascinating Mr. Vanderveldt, in which she created the role of Lady Clarke Howland; and The Dear Unfair Sex, in which she played Mrs Brooke. She also toured the United States as Lady Gay Spanker in London Assurance and, following her Broadway engagements, undertook a coast-to-coast tour as Kate Hardcastle in She Stoops to Conquer.

Back in London, Jeffreys appeared at His Majesty's Theatre in May 1907 as Mrs Allonby in A Woman of No Importance, in a cast that included Herbert Beerbohm Tree, Marion Terry, Kate Cutler, and Viola Tree. In October 1907 she appeared in the opening production of the Queen's Theatre, Madeleine Lucette Ryley's comedy The Sugar Bowl, under her husband Sleath's management. At His Majesty's in 1909 she played Lady Sneerwell in Tree's production of The School for Scandal, a role notably different from the agreeable characters she typically portrayed.

Her later stage work included Mrs Quesnel in The Case of Rebellious Susan and Madge Bolt in Is Matrimony a Failure? at the Criterion in 1911, Comtesse Zicka in a revival of Diplomacy at Wyndham's in 1913, and Mrs Cameron in The Flag Lieutenant at the Haymarket in 1914. At the Globe she played the Countess Olga in Fedora in 1920 and Emily Ladew in Her Husband's Wife in 1921, and the following year appeared at Drury Lane as the Lady Violante in Decameron Nights. She continued performing into the 1930s, taking roles including Lady Frinton in The Last of Mrs Cheyney at the St James's in 1925, Lady Trench in Frederick Lonsdale's Never Come Back at the Phoenix Theatre in 1932 alongside Allan Aynesworth, Viola Tree, and Raymond Massey, and Lady Mary Crabb in Fresh Fields at the Criterion in 1933.

During the 1930s Jeffreys appeared in thirteen films. Her screen credits included Raise the Roof (1930), Birds of Prey (1931), Tilly of Bloomsbury (1931), Leap Year (1932), Two White Arms (1932), The Barton Mystery (1933), Where Is This Lady? (1933), Lilies of the Field (1934), Eliza Comes to Stay (1936), Limelight (1936), While Parents Sleep (1936), Return of a Stranger (1937), and Sweet Devil (1938). She retired from performing in 1938 and died on 21 January 1943 at her home in Chobham, Surrey.