Rose Massey was a 19th century stage actress.

Massey first appeared at the Haymarket Theatre

Haymarket Theatre

The Theatre Royal Haymarket is a West End theatre in the Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in July 1867, playing the role of Mary Meredith in Our American Cousin

Our American Cousin

Our American Cousin is an 1858 play in three acts by English playwright Tom Taylor. The play is a farce whose plot is based on the introduction of an awkward, boorish but honest American, Asa Trenchard, to his aristocratic English relatives when he goes to England to claim the family estate...

, but later gained attention in her 1871 performance as Fatima in Blue Beard at the Covent Garden Theatre.Pascoe, Charles, E. The Dramatic List, p. 259-60 (1880) Her New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 debut was in February 1869, in The Field of the Cloth of Gold at Wood's Museum.

Massey played a number of roles opposite actor Henry James Montague

Henry James Montague

Henry James Montague was the stage name of Henry James Mann, , and American actor born in England.-Biography:He was born in 1844.He appeared in...

, who she followed to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and later sued in 1875 for breach of promise

Breach of promise

Breach of promise is a former common law tort.From at least medieval times until the early 20th century, a man's promise of engagement to marry a woman was considered, in many jurisdictions, a legally binding contract...

 to marry. She claimed to have a son fathered by Montague, and it made a stir when Massey also released "sappy" letters to her from Montague. That case ended, however, when Montague died in 1878.

In addition to her liaison with Montague, Massey also had a relationship with Alex Henderson (1828-1886) (spuose of burlesque

Burlesque

Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...

 producer Lydia Thompson

Lydia Thompson

Lydia Thompson, born Eliza Hodges Thompson , was an English dancer, actress and theatrical producer....

). That relationship produced a daughter, Helen Massey.

Massey was also the mother of actress Blanche Massey

Blanche Massey

Blanche Massey was a Gaiety Girl and actress best known for her stage appearances in London and the United States in the 1890s. Among her appearances in many productions with the George Edwardes company, especially Edwardian musical comedies, she was perhaps most remembered for A Gaiety Girl...

 (born circa 1878).

Massey died of consumption

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

in New York on July 23, 1883.