Acting Career
She had her early training as an actress with the Boston Museum stock company, and afterwards with Edwin Booth. In 1885 Robins married actor George Richmond Parks. Although her husband struggled to get parts, her own acting career gained momentum and she was soon in great demand. On May 31, 1887, Parks left her a note saying he would 'stay in her light no longer' and committed suicide. Suffering from grief and guilt Robins relocated to London the following year. Except for extended visits to the U.S. to visit family, she remained in England for the rest of her life. She first appeared in The Real Little Lord Fauntleroy in 1889. Early in her tenure in London, she became enamoured of Ibsen's plays, starring in Hedda Gabler, A Doll's House and The Master Builder. She soon became known in Britain as "Ibsen's High Priestess." Although she was a gifted actress and she remained one of Britain's most highly respected thespians, her association with Ibsen kept producers from considering her for other roles and limited her acting career. In 1902 she was Lucrezia in Stephen Phillips's Paolo and Francesca at the St. James's Theatre, London.
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