Cameron, Violet

1862

1919

English singer and actress. Niece of the actress and dancer Lydia Thompson, who played a significant role in Violet's upbringing. Her stage debut was at the Princess's Theatre as Karl in a revival of Boucicault's Faust and Marguerite. This was followed by a three year engagement at Drury Lane for pantomime. Taking full advantage of her vocal talent, Cameron continued to perform in Opera Bouffe and Burlesque: most notable was her performance of Germaine in Les Cloches de Corneville at the Folly Theatre. In October 1882 Cameron played the dual role of Alice and Gretchen in Farnie's adaptation of Planquette's Rip Van Winkle at the Gaiety Theatre. Cameron breifly left he stage in 1883. In 1884 she married David de Bensuade, a morrocan tea taster. The couple had one child (1885). In 1886 Cameron saught a judicial seperation from Bensuade on the grounds of violent and threatening behaviour. Bensuade also saught seperation on the grounds of Cameron's alleged adultery with Hugh Cecil Lowther, fifth earl of Lonsdale. The two reached an agreement in 1887 to seperate, and Bensuade withdrew his file for divorce for a settlement of £750, which he later renounced upon discovering Cameron had given birth to a daughter, fathered by Lonsdale, and proof of Cameron's adultery. During these proceedings Cameron toured America, with relative success, despite the scandal of Cameron, Bensuade and Lonsdale appearing in the English papers. She returned from America in 1887 to appear at The Strand Theatre, and then at Shaftsbury Theatre (1893). She returned to Drury Lane in 1901 as the principal boy in Jack and the Beanstalk. Her last performance was at The Prince of Wales Theatre in 1903. She died, aged 56 in 1919. (Ref: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/62581 )