Elsie Leslie

Elsie Leslie (August 14, 1881 – October 31, 1966) was an American actress whose Broadway career spanned from 1887 to 1912. Regarded as America's first child star, she was the highest paid and most popular child actress of her era.

Leslie's professional life began in 1884 when she took the role of Little Meenie in Joseph Jefferson's production of Rip Van Winkle. Her status as a star was established in 1887 through her performance in Editha's Burglar opposite E.H. Sothern at the Lyceum Theatre in New York. She built on that recognition with her role in Little Lord Fauntleroy in 1888 and The Prince and the Pauper in 1890. A portrait painted by William Merritt Chase, depicting Leslie in the character of Little Lord Fauntleroy, became the most enduring visual image associated with her career.

In 1890, while starring in Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper, Leslie met Helen Keller. Both shared a friendship with Leslie's patron, John Spaulding, who referred to them as his "two darlings." Among Leslie's other correspondents were Eleanor Roosevelt, leading actors and actresses, and statesmen, and she maintained this lively correspondence throughout her life. Photographs of Leslie, portions of her diary, and letters and cards from Mark Twain, Helen Keller, Edwin Booth, William Gillette, Elliott Roosevelt, and Joseph Jefferson are recorded in Trustable & Preshus Friends.

After a break from performing, Leslie returned to the stage in 1898, taking on parts in The Rivals, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Christian, and The Taming of the Shrew. Her later Broadway appearances included The Man on the Case in 1907, Louis N. Parker's Disraeli with George Arliss in 1911, and a starring role in The Great Pink Pearl. She married Jefferson Winter, son of drama critic William Winter, though that marriage ended in divorce. In 1918 she married Edwin J. Millikin, and the couple traveled extensively before settling in New York City, where Leslie lived until her death on October 31, 1966. She continued corresponding with friends from her acting days until the end of her life. Leslie is also commemorated by the Elsie Leslie doll produced by Madame Alexander, No. 1560 in the series. Her papers are held at Harvard University Library, and additional photographs, memorabilia, and correspondence spanning 1884 to 1972 are preserved at the Billy Rose Theatre Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.