Cornell, Katharine, 1898–1974, American actress, b. Berlin. Cornell made her debut in 1916 with the Washington Square Players. In 1921 she married Guthrie McClintic, a producer-director. From their first production together, The Green Hat in 1925, they proved to be a successful team, with such productions as The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1931, repeated on television, 1956), Saint Joan (1936), Candida (1937), The Doctor's Dilemma (1941), and The Three Sisters (1942). She was often able to carry a weak production on the basis of her strong voice, expressive face, and acting style. Cornell played Mrs. Patrick Campbell in Dear Liar on Broadway in 1960. After McClintic's death in 1961, Cornell retired from the theater.

Bibliography

See her autobiography (1939); G. McClintic, Me and Kit (1955).

Cornell, Katharine

(born Feb. 16, 1893, Berlin, Ger.—died June 9, 1974, Martha's Vineyard, Mass., U.S.) U.S. actress. Born to American parents in Germany, she toured with a stock company before winning acclaim in Little Women in London (1919). She made her Broadway debut in 1921 and became a star in A Bill of Divorcement that year. She managed her own productions after 1931 and toured widely; most of her plays were directed by her husband, Guthrie McClintic (1893–1961). She starred in plays such as Candida (1924), The Letter (1925), The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1931, 1945)—in which she played the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, her best-remembered role—and Dear Liar (1960). She was often called the first lady of the American theatre.

Cornell, Katharine (1898–1974) stage actress; born in Berlin, Germany. Her first appearance in this country was with the Washington Square Players in 1916; her first New York hit was A Bill of Divorcement (1921). She married, then formed a successful team with her producer-director husband, Guthrie McClintic. She was known for her performances in many theater classics including the role for which she was best known, Elizabeth Moulton-Barrett in The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1931). The Barretts was produced on television in 1956. She also played in Saint Joan (1936) and The Three Sisters (1942). One of the first American performers to form her own repertory company, she took several entire New York productions on the road. In 1959 she played Mrs. Patrick Campbell in Jerome Kilty's Dear Liar. In 1961, after her husband's death, she retired from the theater.