American actress Charlotte Cushman was BOTD in 1816. Born in Boston, Massachusetts to a wealthy mercantile family, she trained as an opera singer, leaving school in her teens to support her family as a performer. After some initial success, a vocal injury ended her singing career, and she became an actress, scoring rave reviews for her portrayal of Lady Macbeth. Her rich contralto voice and boxer’s jawline served her well in a number of “trouser” roles, including Romeo (opposite her sister Susan as Juliet). After discreet affairs with Rosalie Sully and Anne Brewster, Cushman formed a relationship with writer and actress Matilda Hays in 1848. They scandalised Victorian society by appearing together in public, dressed identically, eventually moving to Rome, where they headed a lesbian expatriate community. Their relationship was turbulent, punctuated by mutual affairs with other women and ending with an explosive separation in 1857. Following their split, Cushman had affairs with sculptor Emma Stebbins (who used Cushman as the model for the Angel of the Waters statue at Bethesda Fountain in New York’s Central Park) and the then-18 year-old actress Emma Crow. Returning to America in the 1860s, Cushman continued to perform Lady Macbeth and gave dramatic recitations, attracting celebrity fans including President Abraham Lincoln. Like Cher, she announced a farewell tour annually for many years, giving her final final performance in 1875. She died in 1876, aged 59.