Fanny Lily Gipsy Davenport was the daughter of the celebrated actor Edward Loomis Davenport. She was born in London in 1850 and was brought to America as a child and educated in Boston. When 7 years old she appeared at the Howard Athenaeum in Boston as the child of Metamora, but her real debut was at Niblo’s Garden in February, 1862, as King of Spain in “Faint Heart Never Won Fair Lady.”
While playing at the old Arch Street Theatre, Philadelphia, under the management of Mrs. John Drew she attracted the attention of Augustin Daly, who promptly gave her a place in his Fifth Avenue Theatre in 1869. Afterward she visited the principal cities of the country in a wide variety of roles, both comedy and tragedy.
The Sun 4/16/1916: 9. Print.