Kathryn Kidder

Kathryn Kidder (1868 – September 7, 1939) was an American stage actress whose Broadway career spanned from 1888 to 1909. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she was the daughter of Henry Martyn Kidder and Sarah Ravenhill. She pursued formal training in dramatic art across three cities — New York, London, and Paris — before making her professional debut in Chicago in 1886.

Her early stage work included appearances in Davy Crockett, Nordeck, and Little Lord Fauntleroy. From 1894 onward, Kidder performed continuously in old English comedies, Shakespearean tragedies, and French dramas. Among her Broadway credits were The Rivalry, The Winter's Tale, Madame Sans-Gêne, A Woman of Impulse, and Little Lord Fauntleroy, along with additional productions during her two decades on the New York stage.

One of her most significant professional achievements was securing the exclusive performing rights to Sardou's Madame Sans-Gêne for the United States and Canada in any language except French, a production that became her earliest major success. She returned to the material in 1912 in an adaptation titled The Washerwoman Duchess. Her other notable productions included Molly Pitcher in 1902, Salammbô in 1904, The Embarrassment of Riches in 1906, A Woman of Impulse in 1909, and The Glass House in 1911.

In 1905, Kidder married Louis Kaufman Anspacher, and she was subsequently known professionally and socially as Mrs. L. K. Anspacher.