Hannah Chaplin

Hannah Harriet Pedlingham Chaplin (née Hill; 6 August 1865 – 28 August 1928), also known by the stage name Lily Harley, was an English actress, singer and dancer who performed in British music halls from the age of 16. Chaplin was the mother of actor and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin and his two half-brothers, the actor Sydney Chaplin and the film director Wheeler Dryden and grandmother of Jefferson Airplane drummer and songwriter Spencer Dryden. As a result of mental illness, now thought to have been caused by syphilis, she was unable to continue performing from the mid-1890s. In 1921, she was relocated by her son Charlie to California, where she was cared for in a house in the San Fernando Valley until her death in August 1928. Early life Hannah Chaplin was born on 6 August 1865 at 11 Camden Street in the London district of Walworth. Her father, Charles Frederick Hill, the son of a bricklayer, was a shoemaker. Her mother, Mary Ann Hodges, the daughter of a mercantile clerk, had previously been married to a sign writer who had died in an accident. Acting career At the age of 16, Chaplin left home to improve her fortunes by becoming an actress. Inspired by Lillie Langtry, one of the most successful female performers of the time, she adopted the stage name Lily Harley, performing as an actress and singer in the music halls. While taking part in an Irish sketch Shamus O'Brien in the early 1880s, she fell for her stage partner Charles Chaplin Sr, attracted by his charm and good looks. Reflecting on this period, Charlie Chaplin described his mother as "divine-looking". He was later told that she had been "dainty and attractive and had compelling charm".