Mary Woffington

Mary Woffington Cholmondeley (1729 – 4 April 1811) was an Irish socialite of the Georgian era. Her sister was the famous actress Peg Woffington. After a failed attempt at an acting career, Woffington married the second son of the Earl of Cholmondeley and opted for a life as a socialite. With connections in both English and French high society, she came to have a "modest salon" and was close friends with Frances Burney and Samuel Johnson. Early life and acting career Mary Woffington was born in Dublin in 1729. Nicknamed Polly, she was the second daughter of Catholic bricklayer Arthur/John Woffington and his wife Hannah. Her older sister, Margaret "Peg" Woffington, would later become a successful stage actress in Ireland and England. Little is known about Mary's youth, but it is likely that she had minor roles in her sister's productions, including nearly one hundred performances of The Beggar's Opera at the New Booth Theatre in Dublin. Her father died when she was young, and she remained in Ireland with her mother while her sister pursued an acting career in England. Woffington joined her sister in London in 1740. On 20 April 1741, she had a minor role as a child dancer in a performance of The Double Gallant at the Covent Garden Theatre. Later that year, her sister funded her education at a Catholic convent school in Paris. Woffington returned to England in the summer of 1744, aged 15. She moved into her sister's country house at Teddington, where she began courting members of the local gentry. During this period, she determined to become an actress like her sister, with fortune-tellers predicting a successful career. Peg aided Mary by staging a practice performance of The Distrest Mother at Teddington, assisted by David Garrick, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, George Anne Bellamy, and others. Woffington's professional debut occurred on 30 March 1745, in which she performed the role of the maidservant Cherry in The Beaux' Stratagem at Drury Lane Theatre. Her performance was mediocre, though the critics and audience were "indulgent" and "courteous". After this, she lost interest in acting and did not take to the stage again. Life as a socialite Following her brief acting career, Woffington returned to Teddington and continued to court the local gentry. By the summer of 1746, she courted Robert Cholmondeley, a disgraced captain in the 3rd Foot Guards and the second son of George Cholmondeley, 3rd Earl of Cholmondeley.