Cushman, Charlotte (Saunders) (1816-1876)

US stage actor. One of the first major female native-born American actors, she acquired a large range of classic roles, but her most popular role was as Meg Merrilies in an adaptation of Scott's Guy Mannering. From 1845 until 1870, she lived in England or Rome, only appearing in America occasionally on tour.

She was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She began as an opera singer but turned to acting after she overstrained her voice; the vocal damage left her with a husky, veiled quality that she used to great advantage, often playing male roles including Romeo and Hamlet. Her earliest triumph was as Lady Macbeth in 1836. By 1842 she was managing as well as starring at the Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia. She gave a successful US farewell tour in 1874-75.