Jeanne Eagels

Jeanne Eagles was twice married in her lifetime. The first was to actor, Morris Dubinsky, whom she married when she was a teenager. The couple had a son, who either died in infancy or was given for adoption after the duo separated.

In August 1925, Eagels married Edward Harris ‘Ted’ Coy. He was a former Yale University football star turned stockbroker. The couple had no children. This marriage too ended in divorce in July 1928.

It was during the peak of her career that she became a victim of drug abuse. She also developed alcohol addiction. Though she tried to get rid of her dependency, it was without vain. By mid-1920, she had begun using heroin. This led to her suffering from bouts of ill health that were further augmented by her excessive use of drugs and alcohol.

Jeanne Eagles was born as Eugenia Eagles on June 26, 1890, in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. She was the second of the six children born to Edward and Julia Eagles. While her father had a German and French Huguenot ancestry, her mother belonged to Irish descent.

The family survived on meagre means, and Eagles, in her early days, lived an impoverished life. Her father Edward, a carpenter, died in February 1910.

She attained her early studies from St Joseph’s Catholic School and later attended Morris Public School. Immediately after her First Communion, Eagles quit school to take up work as a cash girl at a departmental store.

Jeanne Eagles tryst with acting began early. She first stepped on the stage at the age of seven. To Eagles, the stage seemed to be a place of solace. When girls of her age hardly pronounced English perfectly, Eagles was performing on Shakespearean play with élan.

She backed her school performance by playing bits and parts in local theatre productions in Kansas City. She appeared in a variety of small roles, polishing her skills and making herself ready for the professional world.

At the age of 15, she became a part of the Dubinsky Brothers’ traveling theatre company. She left Kansas City and toured with them to the Midwest. Originally a dancer, she worked her way up the ladder to take up acting roles and eventually lead roles in several comedies and dramas including, ‘Camille’, ‘Romeo and Juliet’, ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ and so on.

Around 1911, Eagles left Dubinsky troop to make her own career. She moved to New York City where she first took to working in chorus lines. She eventually rose her way to become a Ziegfeld Girl.

While in New York, she got a makeover done. She dyed her hair blonde from brunette and claimed to have Spanish and Irish lineage. She also changed her surname from Eagles to Eagels, asserting that the latter looked better on a marquee. She impersonated in an English accent and presented herself to public as an ingénue.