Katharine Cornell
German-born American stage actress and producer, first Drama League Award winner.
Katharine Cornell (February 16, 1893 – June 9, 1974) was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner, and producer, born in Berlin to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York. Critic Alexander Woollcott called her "The First Lady of the Theatre," and she became the first performer to win the Drama League Award, for her 1935 performance in *Romeo and Juliet*. She is remembered as one of the great actresses of American theater, known for her major Broadway roles in serious dramas, many of which were directed by her husband, Guthrie McClintic. Together, they founded C. & M.C. Productions, Inc., which gave them full artistic control over their plays and introduced prominent Broadway roles to many notable 20th-century actors, including several British Shakespearean performers.
Her most famous role was the English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning in the 1931 Broadway production of *The Barretts of Wimpole Street*. Other Broadway appearances included *The Letter* (1927), *The Alien Corn* (1933), *Romeo and Juliet* (1934), *The Wingless Victory* (1936), *No Time for Comedy* (1939), a Tony Award-winning Cleopatra in *Antony and Cleopatra* (1947), and a revival of *The Constant Wife* (1951). Unlike many actresses of her time, Cornell largely avoided screen roles. Her only Hollywood film was the World War II morale booster *Stage Door Canteen*, where she played herself. She also appeared in television adaptations of *The Barretts of Wimpole Street* and *There Shall Be No Night*, and narrated the Oscar-winning documentary *Helen Keller in Her Story*.
Primarily seen as a tragedienne, Cornell was admired for her refined, romantic presence. One reviewer noted that her romanticism was not robust but tended toward "dark but delicate tints," conveying an "aspiring girlishness" shaped by theatrical influences. Her comedic roles were rare and praised more for warmth than wit; critic Brooks Atkinson said her performance in *The Constant Wife* turned a "hard and metallic" comedy into a romantic drama. She died in Tisbury, Massachusetts at age 81, and her ashes rest at Martha's Vineyard's Tisbury Village Cemetery.
Cornell was born on February 16, 1893, into a wealthy, prominent family distantly related to Ezra Cornell, founder of Cornell University. Her great-grandfather Samuel Garretson Cornell, a descendant of pioneer Thomas Cornell, moved to Buffalo in the 1850s
- born
- February 16, 1893, Berlin, Germany
- died
- June 9, 1974, Tisbury, Massachusetts, USA
- field
- Stage actress, writer, theater owner, producer
- nationality
- German-born American
- known_for
- First Drama League Award recipient; role as Elizabeth Barrett Browning in The Barretts of Wimpole Street; Tony Award-winning Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra
Lore & Background
Cornell was born in Berlin to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York. Her great-grandfather Samuel Garretson Cornell founded Cornell Lead Works. As a child, she had a troubled relationship with her parents due in part to her mother's alcoholism. She performed in school pageants and family productions in her grandfather's attic theater. She attended the University of Buffalo and joined The Garret Club in 1913. After her mother's death in 1915, she moved to New York City, joined the Washington Square Players, and later Jessie Bonstelle's company. She made her Broadway debut in Nice People and her first major Broadway role was in A Bill of Divorcement (1921). She married Guthrie McClintic on September 8, 1921; it is generally acknowledged that Cornell was a lesbian and McClintic was gay, their union a lavender marriage.
Reader's Guide
Cornell's significance lies in her sustained Broadway career and her artistic independence. With her husband, she formed C. & M.C. Productions, Inc., which gave them complete artistic freedom and introduced many notable actors, including British Shakespearean performers, to Broadway. Her most famous role was Elizabeth Barrett Browning in The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1931). She spurned screen roles, appearing in only one Hollywood film, Stage Door Canteen, and in television adaptations of The Barretts of Wimpole Street and There Shall Be No Night. Primarily regarded as a tragedienne, she was admired for her refined, romantic presence. Her appearances in comedy were infrequent and praised more for warmth than wit. She died at age 81 in Tisbury, Massachusetts, and her ashes are interred at Martha's Vineyard's Tisbury Village Cemetery.
Did You Know?
- Cornell was the first performer to receive the Drama League Award, for Romeo and Juliet in 1935.
- She appeared in only one Hollywood film, the World War II morale booster Stage Door Canteen, playing herself.
- Her production company gave first or prominent Broadway roles to many British Shakespearean actors.
- She narrated the documentary Helen Keller in Her Story, which won an Oscar.
More in Stage & Screen Veterans 1-18
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record