Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Ellsler, Fanny

ELLSLER, Fanny, dancer, b. in Vienna, Austria, 23 June, 1810; d. there, 27 Nov., 1884. She began her career at six years of age, and at the age of seventeen, with her sister, who was two years her senior, appeared on the stage at Naples. In 1830 the two performed in Berlin, afterward in Vienna, and in 1834 went to the opera-house in Paris. Fanny was much preferred for her grace, agility, and beauty, and caused an excitement among theatre-goers in the French capital. In 1840 she came to this country and appeared at the Park theatre in several ballets with immense success, finally making a general tour through the principal cities of the United States. She returned to England in 1842, visited Russia and Germany professionally, and took leave of the stage at Vienna in 1851. Most of her later years were spent in retirement at her villa near Hamburg. She was tall and slender, and her features regular, animated, and winning. In sprightliness, combined with grace, she has never been excelled.