Eva Le Gallienne (January 11, 1899 – June 3, 1991). British actress, producer, and director
After a childhood spent in London and Paris, she came to New York and became a Broadway star in several plays including Arthur Richman's
Not So Long Ago (1920) and Ferenc Molnár's
Liliom (1921).
Eva founded the "Civic Repertory Theatre" in New York, with the financial support of one of her lovers, Alice DeLamar. In 1928 she gave the performance of her life in Ibsen's
Hedda Gabler. The Civic Rep disbanded at the height of the Depression in 1935.
Eva never hid her homosexuality inside the acting community, but reportedly was never comfortable with her sexuality, struggling privately with it. In early Hollywood and acting circles, lesbianism was fairly common, and although generally not divulged to the public, it was accepted behind the scenes. In 1918, while in Hollywood, she began an affair with the great actress Alla Nazimova, which ended reportedly due to Nazimova's jealousy. Later, around 1920, she became involved with writer Mercedes de Acosta. She was also involved for some time with actress Tallulah Bankhead during that time. Her only known heterosexual affair was with actor Basil Rathbone.
In the late 1930s Le Gallienne became involved in a relationship with theater director Margaret Webster. She, Webster, and producer Cheryl Crawford later co-founded the American Repertory Theater, which operated from 1946 to 1948.
In 1964 Le Gallienne was presented with a special Tony Award in recognition of her 50th year as an actress and in honor of her work with the National Repertory Theatre.
Eva was a naturalized United States citizen. The National Endowment for the Arts recognized her with the National Medal of Arts in 1986.