Anne Hathaway (wife of Shakespeare)
Anne Hathaway | |
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This drawing by Nathaniel Curzon, dated 1708, purportedly depicts Anne Hathaway. Samuel Schoenbaum writes that it is probably a tracing of a lost Elizabethan portrait, but there is no existing evidence that the portrait actually depicted Hathaway. | |
| Born | 1556 Shottery, England |
| Died | 6 August 1623 (aged 66–67) Stratford-upon-Avon, England |
| Spouse | |
| Children | |
Anne Hathaway (1556 – 6 August 1623), was the wife of William Shakespeare, an English poet, playwright and actor. They were married in 1582, when Hathaway was pregnant at 26 years old: Shakespeare was 18. Some writers, such as Schoenbaum, have assumed that she was rather old for an Elizabethan bride, but in fact it was normal for her contemporaries to marry in their 20s, although legally they could marry earlier. Shakespeare, on the other hand, was young for an Elizabethan bridegroom.
She outlived her husband by seven years. Very little is known about her life beyond a few references in documents. Her personality and relationship to Shakespeare have been the subject of much speculation by many historians and writers.