Born: 11 October 1817, United Kingdom
Died: 31 October 1898
Country most active: United Kingdom
Also known as: Helena Martin, Helena Saville or Savill
From Famous Women: An Outline of Feminine Achievement Through the Ages With Life Stories of Five Hundred Noted Women. Written by Joseph Adelman, published 1926 by Ellis M Lonow Company:
Helena Saville Faucit, an English actress, daughter of John Saville Faucit, an actor, born in London.
Her first appearance was in 1836 at Covent Garden as Julia in The Hunchback, and she was at once successful. For fifteen years she stood first among the actresses of her time, excelling in the plays of Shakespeare, Browning and Bulwer-Lytton.
In 1851 she was married to Mr. (afterward Sir) Theodore Martin, and left the stage, though appearing at intervals for charitable purposes.
She published a volume of delightful studies, entitled: On Some of Shakespeare’s Female Characters (1885). There is a tablet to her in the Shakespeare Memorial at Stratford-on-Avon with a portrait figure, and the marble pulpit in the church, with her portrait as Saint Helena, was given in her memory by her husband.