Fanny Elssler
Austrian Dancer
1810 – 1884 A.D.

Fanny Elssler, an Austrian dancer, born in Vienna. From her earliest years she was trained for the ballet with her sister Therese.

She first appeared in Naples in 1827 which led to an engagement in Berlin in 1830. This was the beginning of a series of triumphs for her personal beauty and charm, and for her skill in dancing.

After captivating many hearts in Berlin and Vienna, she appeared at the Opera in Paris in 1834, a step to which she looked forward with much misgiving on account of Taglioni’s supremacy on stage. The result, however, was the temporary eclipse of Taglioni, who, although the finer artist of the two, could not compete with Fanny’s personal fascination.

In 1840 she sailed with her sister to America, where they excited unwonted enthusiasm.

After two years of unmixed success they returned to Europe, and in 1845, having amassed a fortune, Fanny Elssler retired from the stage, and was almost seventy-five when she died in Vienna in November, 1884.

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Reference: Famous Women; An Outline of Feminine Achievement Through the Ages With Life Stories of Five Hundred Noted Women By Joseph Adelman. Copyright, 1926 by Ellis M. Lonow Company.