Gertrude Barrison

Gertrude Barrison, birth name Gertrud Bareisen, (1880–1946) was a Danish-born singer, dancer and risqué cabaret performer who emigrated to the United States with her family as a child. In the late 1890s, she gained considerable success performing with her four older sisters Lona, Sophia, Inger and Olga, initially in the United States, but later in European cities including Paris, Berlin and Budapest. Together they were known as the Five Sisters Barrison. After they separated, Gertrude continued her career as a dancer and dance teacher based in Vienna. She married the Austrian singer and artist Carl Hollitzer with whom she performed at the city's Nachtlicht and Fledermaus cabarets. They divorced without children in 1910. Barrison continued teaching and presenting solo performances in Europe, eventually moving to Copenhagen in later life.

Biography Born on 5 February 1880 in the Valby district of Copenhagen, Gertrud Bareisen was the daughter of Erika Vilhelmine Petrea Bareisen née Corvinius (1851–1905) and Niels Adolph Hansenius Bareisen (born 1849). In 1886, she emigrated with her parents and sisters to the United States where she was raised in New York. While still a child, she appeared with her sisters on the stage, in particular dancing a gavotte at the German-language Amberg Theatre, a performance which received wide acclaim.

Gertrude Barrison died in Copenhagen in 1946. She was the last of the Barrison sisters to die.