Ada Cavendish (1847 – 5 October 1895) was an English actress known for her Shakespearean roles and for popularising the plays of Wilkie Collins in America .

After her stage debut in April 1863, Cavendish became known for playing such Shakespearean heroines as Juliet, Beatrice and Rosalind.

She also famously played the title role of Miss Gwilt in the stage adaptation of Armadale and Mercy Merrick in The New Magdalen, both by Wilkie Collins.

The ODNB noted that: During her stage career Ada Cavendish was variously described as a sprightly, fair-haired burlesque actress with good gifts in comedy and serious drama, especially Shakespeare; dignified and refined, she earned many laudatory notices.

[37]She married the playwright Francis Albert Marshall at St Edward's Roman Catholic Church, Windsor on 2 May 1885,[38] only 10 weeks after his first wife (Imogene Fitzinman Batty) had died.