Zena Dare

Zena Dare (born Florence Hariette Zena Dones; 4 February 1887 – 11 March 1975) was an English actress and singer, who was famous for her performances in Edwardian musical comedy and other musical theatre and comedic plays in the first half of the 20th century.

In a career spanning more than six decades, Dare made her first appearance on stage in 1899, in the Christmas pantomime Babes in the Wood in London, where she performed under her real name Florence Dones. She starred alongside her sister Phyllis in the production, and they both adopted the stage name of Dare soon afterwards. In the first decade of the 1900s, she starred in pantomimes and various Edwardian musical comedy productions including An English Daisy, Sergeant Brue and The Catch of the Season, as well as the title roles in Lady Madcap and The Girl on Stage. She retired in 1911 and nursed soldiers in France during World War I.

Dare returned to the stage in 1926 where she played the title role in The Last of Mrs. Cheyney. This was followed with a role in The Second Man alongside Noël Coward. In 1928, she formed her own production company and, a year later, took over the management of the Haymarket Theatre. On stage, she starred in The First Mrs. Fraser, Other Men's Wives and Cynara, and she appeared in pantomime at the London Palladium. Late in her career, she had a big success as Mrs. Higgins in the long-running original London production of My Fair Lady.

In addition to her stage roles, Dare occasionally appeared in film and made her debut in the silent film No. 5 John Street in 1921. She made a successful transition to "talkies" appearing in The Return of Carol Deane in 1938 and Over the Moon a year later. She died in London in 1975 at the age of 88.

Life and career Dare was born in Chelsea, London, the oldest of three children of Arthur Albert Dones, a divorce clerk, and his wife Harriette Amelia ( Wheeler). Dare was educated at Maida Vale High School.

In 1905 to 1906, Dare was hired by producer George Edwardes to play three roles at The Prince of Wales Theatre in London: the title role in Lady Madcap, Lady Elizabeth Congress in The Little Cherub and the title role in The Girl on Stage.

In 1907, she returned to the Aldwych as Victoria Siddons in The Gay Gordons and spent the rest of the year in a tour of one act plays with Hicks' company. She spent 1908 and the beginning of 1909 touring both in The Gay Gordons, this time in the lead role of Peggy Quainton, and in Sweet and Twenty, among other pieces. Eager to help the war effort during World War I, Dare nursed injured soldiers for three years at Mrs. Vanderbilt's American Hospital in France.

In 1940, for the first time in over four decades, Zena and Phyllis Dare shared the stage in a tour of Full House, in which Dare played Frynne Rodney. In 1941 at the Globe Theatre, Dare played Lady Caroline in a revival of Dear Brutus. At Christmas of the same year, she again played the part of Mrs. Darling in Peter Pan. In 1943 she played Fanny Farrelly in a tour of The Watch on the Rhine, followed by the Red Queen in Gielgud's revival of Alice Through the Looking Glass at the Scala Theatre in London. Her films included the silent films No. 5 John Street(1921)

She died in London in 1975 at the age of 88. Her sister Phyllis died six weeks later.