# Jane Stephens (actress)

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{{Short description|British actress}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Jane Tryphoena Stephens
| image       = Jane 'Grannie' Stephens Portrait.jpg
| caption     = Jane 'Grannie' Stephens by [William Bond](/source/William_Bond_(engraver))
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| birth_date  = 1812?
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| death_date  = 15 January 1896
| death_place = [Clapham Common](/source/Clapham_Common)
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'''Jane Tryphoena Stephens''' (1812? – 15 January 1896) was a British actress who became famous as she became older.

==Life==
[[File:Jane Grannie Stephens Grave.jpg|thumb|170px|left|Stephens' grave in [Brookwood Cemetery](/source/Brookwood_Cemetery)]]
Her first surname is unknown as she sometimes appeared as "Miss Stephens". She had a husband called Joseph Stephens who was a solicitor's clerk. Before she took to the stage in 1840 she ran a tobacconists. She took a variety of roles but it was not until 1854 that she found her niche. She took on "grandmotherly" type roles in a number of productions and was affectionately known as "Granny" Stephens.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001179/18890712/029/0010|title=The Shaftesbury - Mrs. Stephens's Farewell|date=12 July 1889|work=[The Stage](/source/The_Stage)|access-date=18 February 2019|issue=434|page=10|url-access=subscription |via=British Newspaper Archive}}</ref> She finished her career on 9 July 1889 with a benefit programme at the [Shaftesbury Theatre](/source/Shaftesbury_Theatre). The committee responsible for promoting the show included [R D'Oyly Carte](/source/Richard_D'Oyly_Carte), [George Edwardes](/source/George_Edwardes) and [C H Hawtrey](/source/Charles_Hawtrey_(actor%2C_born_1858)).<ref name=odnb>{{cite ODNB|id=26386|title=Stephens, Jane Tryphoena|year=2004|last=Knight|first=Joseph|last2=Gilliland|first2=Jean}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

Stephens died in [Clapham Common](/source/Clapham_Common) in 1896 of bronchitis.<ref name="odnb" /> She was cremated on 20 January and her ashes were buried in the Actors' Acre in [Brookwood Cemetery](/source/Brookwood_Cemetery) in Woking.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001652/18960121/018/0002|title=The Late Mrs Jane Stephens|date=21 January 1896|work=The Globe|access-date=18 February 2019|issue=31404|page=2|url-access=subscription |via=[British Newspaper Archive](/source/British_Newspaper_Archive)}}</ref>

==Legacy==
There is a portrait of "Mrs Stephens" in the National Portrait Gallery by William Bond dating from the early 19th century.<ref>[http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp128290/mrs-stephens Mrs Stephens], National Portrait Gallery, London</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Jane Tryphoena}}
Category:1810s births
Category:1896 deaths
Category:British stage actresses
Category:19th-century British actresses
Category:Deaths from bronchitis
Category:Burials at Brookwood Cemetery

{{UK-stage-actor-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jane Stephens (actress)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Stephens_(actress)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Stephens_(actress)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.