Elliott, Gertrude (1874–1950)

American actress and sister of Maxine Elliott. Born in Rockland, Maine, in 1874; died in 1950; daughter of Thomas (a sea captain) and Adelaide (Hall) Dermot; younger sister of actress Maxine Elliott (1868–1940); married Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson (an English actor-manager), in 1900; children: several, including Diana Forbes-Robertson (author of My Aunt Maxine: The Story of Maxine Elliott) and Jean Forbes-Robertson (an actress).

Gertrude Elliott was born in Rockland, Maine, in 1874, the daughter of Thomas and Adelaide Hall Dermot. Encouraged in her stage career by her older sister Maxine Elliott , Gertrude Elliott made her New York debut in 1894. From 1897 to 1899, she appeared with Nathaniel Goodwin (whom her sister married in 1898, then later divorced) in In Missoura, The Rivals, and Nathan Hale. Gertrude made her London debut in 1899 as Midge in The Cowboy and the Lady and later appeared with Johnston Forbes-Robertson, playing Ophelia to his Hamlet. The two were married in 1900 and often returned to America, where Gertrude created the role of Cleopatra in Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra, among others. Praised as much for her humor and eloquent speech as her beauty, she performed with her husband until his retirement in 1913, after which she toured under her own management. In one of her last performances in New York in 1936, she played Gertrude in Hamlet opposite Leslie Howard. From 1911, Gertrude and her family resided with her sister Maxine at Hartsbourne Manor, in England. Her daughter Jean Forbes-Robertson , one of several children, was also on the stage.