(1856-1943)
The wife of playwright James A. Herne and mother of actress Chrystal Herne was herself a reputable actress. Born Katharine Corcoran in Ballyleeks, County Cork, Ireland,* she came to New York with her parents and siblings in 1860. In her youth, she became an ardent theatergoer, first in New York and continuing in San Francisco when her family moved there. After two years of acting lessons with Mrs. Julia Melville, she joined Herne's company, soon rose to leading lady, and married Herne in 1878. She played Chrystal in his play Hearts of Oak as well as featured roles in most of his subsequent plays, but it was for the title role in Margaret Fleming (1891), which Herne wrote for her, that she earned her greatest plaudits. The subtle truthfulness of her portrayal helped to promote the new realism, and she steadily encouraged his writing in the vein of Henrik Ibsen, despite the resistance of some critics. After Herne's death, she became active in Chicago theatre, serving as a director of the New Theatre and overseeing a revival of Margaret Fleming with her daughter in the title role.
The Historical Dictionary of the American Theater. James Fisher.