Julie Opp

Julie Opp (January 28, 1871 – April 9, 1921) was an American stage actress who was for a number of years popular on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. She was the wife of the Anglo-American actor William Faversham, whom she married shortly after the two co-starred in the 1902 Broadway production, The Royal Rival.

Biography

Julie (sometimes spelled Julia) Opp was born in New York City on January 28, 1871, the daughter of John "Johnny" and Mary Opp. Johnny Opp, the son of Bavarian immigrants, ran a saloon on Lower Manhattan's Bowery and was also active in local neighborhood politics. Mary Dwyer, a first generation Irish-American, was some thirteen years her husband's junior and in her late teens when Julie was born. As a child Opp attended public school for a time before her mother decided it best she was educated at a local convent. There she astounded the sisters and amused a bishop by declaring her ambition to become a ballet dancer when he asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. By the time of her graduation, journalism had replaced ballet, and with the help of a friend she became a fashion writer for the New York Recorder.

Her work as a journalist eventually brought Opp within close orbit of many in the theater world and some, including Sarah Bernhardt and Emma Calvé, tried to convince her to become an actress. She later played a minor role in a one-off performance of Camille and on occasions did dramatic readings at social affairs, but when playwright George du Maurier offered her a role in the original 1895 production of Trilby she turned him down, still not ready to abandon her chosen profession.