Born 1885 in Washington, D.C., American actress Pauline Chase performed on the stage in both the United States and the United Kingdom. She added the names “Ellen” and “Matthew” to hers when she was baptized in the Church of England in 1906, from her godparents, the actress Ellen Terry and author James Matthew Barrie.
Chase is known for her extended run in the title role of British productions of Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up. She was also known as the Pocket Venus of New York. She came out of retirement in 1916 for her only screen appearance in The Real Thing at Last, a satirical film scripted by Barrie and shown at a benefit for the YMCA, attended by members of the British royal family.
Chase died in Royal Tunbridge Wells, England, in 1962, aged 76. Take a look at these fabulous photos to see portraits of a young Pauline Chase in the 1900s.
