Lily Hanbury (1874 - 5 March 1908) was an English stage performer.
Hanbury was born Lily Alcock, the daughter of Elizabeth (née Davis) and Matthew Alcock. Educated in London, her début was in 1888's W. S. Gilbert's Pygmalion and Galatea at the Savoy Theatre; and later she appeared on most of the leading stages of the English metropolis. Her extensive repertory included, 'Countess Wintersen' in The Stranger; 'Hetty Preene' in G. R. Sims' Lights o' London; and 'Petra' in Ibsen's Enemy of the People'.
She reached her peak in popularity, however, by playing a number or roles in Shakespearian plays, mainly under the management of Wilson Barrett and Beerbohm Tree.
Hanbury died of medical complications following the delivery of a still-born child. Following cremation Lily's ashes were interred at the Jewish Cemetery at Willesden, England.
Lily's younger sister Hilda, also an actress and one time member of Herbert Beerbohm Tree's theatrical company, is the grandmother of Edward Fox and great-grandmother of Freddie Fox, Emilia Fox and Laurence Fox.
Famous quotes containing the word lily:
“O ruddier than the cherry,
O sweeter than the berry,
O Nymph more bright
Than moonshine night,
Like kidlings blithe and merry.
Ripe as the melting cluster,
No lily has such lustre,
Yet hard to tame,
As raging flame,
And fierce as storms that bluster.”
—John Gay (1685–1732)