Mrs Edward Knight

Mrs. Edward Knight, born Mary Ann Povey in Birmingham, England in 1804, was an English-American singer and actress who worked primarily in comic opera. She died in October 1861 at Brompton, England.

Povey began her theatrical training at age twelve under Mr. Tom Cooke and made her stage debut as a singer at Drury Lane Theatre in 1817. She developed a reputation as a performer of particular strength in comic opera, and as her career progressed she took on a widening range of characters, including chambermaids, country girls, and elderly spinsters. She became affiliated with the Park Theatre during her time in the United States.

In 1826, she married Edward Knight at St Pancras New Church. Knight was a musician and the son of the actor Edward Knight. The couple had one child, a daughter, who died in 1845.

Knight arrived in the United States in the 1820s and established herself as a prominent figure on the American stage. Her Broadway appearances included a production of Dr. Faustus in 1827. Contemporary accounts placed her at the top of popular regard during this period, noting that no contemporary star matched her in comic opera.

Later in life, Knight contracted a disease caused by excessive weeping, which left her partially blind. She returned to England four years after the death of her daughter, in 1849.