Pauline Chase was an American actress who performed on the stage in both the United States and the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. She is known for her extended run in the title role of British productions of Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up.

Biography

She was born Ellen Pauline Matthew Bliss in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 on May 20, 1885. She was schooled at the Convent of the Sisters of the Holy Cross

Sisters of the Holy Cross

The Sisters of the Holy Cross headquartered on the same grounds as Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana, is one of three Catholic congregations of religious sisters which trace their origins to the foundation of the Congregation of Holy Cross by the Blessed Father Basil Anthony-Marie Moreau,...

 in New York.

She began acting at the age of 15. She played one of the Lost Boys in the debut of Peter Pan in London in 1904. She was later selected by producer Charles Frohman

Charles Frohman

Charles Frohman was an American theatrical producer. Frohman was producing plays by 1889 and acquired his first Broadway theatre by 1892. He discovered and promoted many stars of the American theatre....

 and playwright J. M. Barrie

J. M. Barrie

Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright...

 for the title role, which she played from 1906–1913.

She retired from the stage after the Christmas run of Peter Pan

Peter Pan

Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...

 ended in 1913 to marry banker Captain Alexander Victor Drummond

Alexander Drummond

Captain Alexander Victor Drummond was an English cricketer. Drummond's batting and bowling styles are unknown.-Personal life:...

. They had three children.

She came out of retirement in 1916 for her only screen appearance in The Real Thing at Last

The Real Thing at Last

The Real Thing at Last is a satirical silent movie based on the play Macbeth. It was written in 1916 by Peter Pan creator and playwright J. M. Barrie as a parody of the American film industry...

, a satirical film scripted by Barrie and shown at a benefit for the YMCA

YMCA

The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...

, attended by members of the British royal family.

She was said to have had an affair with explorer Robert Falcon Scott

Robert Falcon Scott

Captain Robert Falcon Scott, CVO was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition, 1910–13...

 before he was married.

She died in Royal Tunbridge Wells

Royal Tunbridge Wells

Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in west Kent, England, about south-east of central London by road, by rail. The town is close to the border of the county of East Sussex...

, England in 1962.