Carlotta Nillson (February , â€" December , ) was a Swedish-born
American actress who appeared in at least ten Broadway productions
over the first decade of the twentieth century. She was probably best
remembered for her portrayal of Rhys Macchesney in the play The Three
of Us.Carlotta Nillson was born on February , , in Småland, Sweden
and was raised by her widowed mother. When she was about ten her
mother brought her to America where they first settled in Wisconsin
and later Minnesota. Nillson's mother was very poor at the time and it
was soon decided that she should live with a more affluent neighbor
with a large family. Though too young to be a nanny, Nillson was
expected to entertain the younger children of the household. Because
of her circumstances Nillson was not a happy child (later describing
herself as being "born old") and at first found this chore somewhat
challenging. This she overcame when it was discovered she had a knack
for conjuring up fairy tales rich with goblins, sea pirates and
fairies who lived in ice caves along the North Sea.Several years later
Nillson and her mother moved to San Francisco where the young teenager
managed to be hired as a walk-on player with Madame Modjeska's stock
company. Nillson's stage debut followed in a road production of
Friedrich Schiller's play Mary Stuart. Modjeska had noticed how
emotional Nillson became during Mary's (Modjeska) execution scene and
cast her as one of the maids that accompanied the Scottish Queen to
the scaffold.
American actress who appeared in at least ten Broadway productions
over the first decade of the twentieth century. She was probably best
remembered for her portrayal of Rhys Macchesney in the play The Three
of Us.Carlotta Nillson was born on February , , in Småland, Sweden
and was raised by her widowed mother. When she was about ten her
mother brought her to America where they first settled in Wisconsin
and later Minnesota. Nillson's mother was very poor at the time and it
was soon decided that she should live with a more affluent neighbor
with a large family. Though too young to be a nanny, Nillson was
expected to entertain the younger children of the household. Because
of her circumstances Nillson was not a happy child (later describing
herself as being "born old") and at first found this chore somewhat
challenging. This she overcame when it was discovered she had a knack
for conjuring up fairy tales rich with goblins, sea pirates and
fairies who lived in ice caves along the North Sea.Several years later
Nillson and her mother moved to San Francisco where the young teenager
managed to be hired as a walk-on player with Madame Modjeska's stock
company. Nillson's stage debut followed in a road production of
Friedrich Schiller's play Mary Stuart. Modjeska had noticed how
emotional Nillson became during Mary's (Modjeska) execution scene and
cast her as one of the maids that accompanied the Scottish Queen to
the scaffold.
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