[3] Her grandfather owned a tavern and left her father several properties, he however mortgaged these which resulted in Anne and her mother being placed in financial difficulty when he died young.

[4] In 1699, she attracted George Farquhar's attention when he overheard her reciting lines from Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher's play The Scornful Lady (1616) in a back room of her tavern.

[6] In the summer of 1703, Oldfield replaced Susanna Verbruggen when her contract was terminated before the company travelled to Bath to perform for Queen Anne and her court.

[8] Contemporary gossip is recorded that there were rivalries between Oldfield, Anne Bracegirdle, Jane Rogers and Susannah Centlivre, all of whom were supposedly vying for the best roles.

[9] In 1706 Oldfield came into conflict with the Drury Lane's management over benefits and salary she believed she had been promised, but which the theatre refused to pay.

However, during this pregnancy, Oldfield was unable to continue acting due to her health, and was forced to leave the theatre for several months.

[8][20] Alexander Pope, in his Sober Advice from Horace, wrote of her "Engaging Oldfield, who, with grace and ease, Could join the arts to ruin and to please."

Oldfield had said to her maid "No, let a charming chintz and Brussels lace Wrap my cold limbs and shade my lifeless face; One would not, sure, be frightful when one's dead, And Betty give this cheek a little red.