Minnie Dupree

Minnie Dupree (January 19, 1875 – May 23, 1947) was an American actress whose career spanned stage, film, and radio. Born in San Francisco, California, she began performing in 1887 with a touring company under John A. Stevens. The following year, a small role in William Gillette's New York production Held by the Enemy brought her considerable notice. She went on to work alongside prominent figures of the era including Richard Mansfield, Stuart Robson, and Nat Goodwin, accumulating a series of significant supporting roles before securing a starring part in Women and Wine in 1900.

Leading roles continued into the early twentieth century, with Dupree appearing in The Climbers (1901), A Rose o' Plymouth-Town (1902), Heidelberg (1902), The Music Master (1904), and The Road to Yesterday (1906). Her Broadway career, which extended from 1896 to 1946, also included productions such as The Eldest, Dark Eyes, and Last Stop. Later stage highlights included The Old Soak (1922), The Shame Woman (1923), and Outward Bound (1924), in which she played Mrs. Midge. In 1941 she stepped into the role of Martha Brewster as a replacement in Arsenic and Old Lace, and the following year she portrayed Emma Jolonik in the drama Lily of the Valley. Her final stage appearance came in Land's End in 1946.

Dupree appeared in two feature films. In The Young in Heart (1938) she acted alongside Janet Gaynor, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Paulette Goddard, Roland Young, and Billie Burke. Her second film role came in Anne of Windy Poplars (1940). During the Great Depression, she helped organize the Stage Relief Fund to provide assistance to unemployed actors and actresses.

On November 8, 1896, an announcement was made that Dupree would marry Major William H. Langley, a reputed millionaire, at the close of the season. She died in New York City on May 23, 1947, at the age of 72.