Lillie Langtry, English singer and actress (b. 1853)
Emilie Charlotte Langtry (née Le Breton; 13 October 1853 – 12 February 1929), known as Lillie (or Lily) Langtry and nicknamed "The Jersey Lily", was a British socialite, stage actress and producer.Born on the island of Jersey, upon marrying she moved to London in 1876. Her looks and personality attracted interest, commentary, and invitations from artists and society hostesses, and she was celebrated as a young woman of great beauty and charm. During the aesthetic movement in England she had been painted by aesthete artists, and in 1882 she became the poster-girl for Pears Soap, becoming the first celebrity to endorse a commercial product.In 1881, Langtry became an actress and made her West End debut in the comedy She Stoops to Conquer, causing a sensation in London by becoming the first socialite to appear on stage. She would go on to star in many plays in both the United Kingdom and the United States, including The Lady of Lyons, and Shakespeare's As You Like It, eventually running her own stage production company. In later life she performed "dramatic sketches" in vaudeville. From the mid-1890s until 1919 Langtry lived at Regal Lodge at Newmarket in Suffolk where she maintained a successful horse racing stable. She was also known for her relationships with royal figures and noblemen, including the Prince of Wales (future Edward VII), the Earl of Shrewsbury, and Prince Louis of Battenberg. She was the subject of widespread public and media interest.