Stevens, Emily

(1882-1928)

   New York-born Emily Stevens was the niece of Minnie Maddern Fiske and debuted in a bit role in her aunt's production of Becky Sharp (1900). With Mrs. Fiske's guidance, Stevens spent 10 years honing her craft, moving up to major roles in Leah Kleschna (1904) and The New York Idea (1906). She played an important part in Edward Sheldon's The Boss (1911), and followed it with Today (1913) and her biggest success, as the unrepentant wife in Louis K. Anspacher's The Unchastened Woman (1915). Following a few roles in motion pictures, Stevens returned to Broadway in The Madonna of the Future (1918), The Gentile Wife (1918), Sophie (1920), Footloose (1920), The Sporting Thing to Do (1923), A Lesson in Love (1923), Fata Morgana (1924), and Hedda Gabler (1926), and replaced Lynn Fontanne in The Second Man (1927), but she died of a drug overdose at the peak of her career.