Edna May

Edna May Pettie (September 2, 1878 – January 1, 1948), known on stage as Edna May, was an American actress and singer. A popular postcard beauty, May was famous for her leading roles in Edwardian musical comedies.

Life and career

Edna May was born in Syracuse, New York, to Edgar and Cora Petty. The family later changed the surname to "Pettie". Her siblings were Adelbert, Jennie and Marguerite.

At the age of 5, she played Little Willie Allen in a production of Dora. The next year, her performances "charmed a number of audiences lately with her child voice". By the age of 7, she had joined a children's opera company and performed Gilbert and Sullivan productions in Syracuse. She studied music at the New York Conservatoire as a teenager.

May made her professional debut in 1895 in Si Stebbings in Syracuse. She then moved to New York City to take the small role of Clairette Styrberg in Oscar Hammerstein's Broadway show, Santa Maria. That year, she married Fred Titus, who held a world record for cycling. They had no children and divorced in 1904. Alesia in La poupée (1904) in London, and Angela in The Catch of the Season (1905) in New York. The Belle of Mayfair followed in London in 1906. May played the title character in Nelly Neil in London in 1907.

May was known for her beauty and received tremendous attention from male admirers. In 1907, she married millionaire Oscar Lewisohn and retired from the stage. The couple settled in England. They had no children, and Lewisohn died in 1917.

She died in Lausanne, Switzerland, at the age of 69.