Her parents, William and Hannah, also referred to as Mr. and Mrs. Brett, were both stage actors and were prominent performers of the Bath-Bristol company and Foote's Haymarket.

In History of American Theatre, William Dunlap stated how she appeared so unwell when she played Letitia Hardy on June 15, 1803, and would perform several days later in The Stranger "looking so as to make the writer's heart ache".

[6] She died in Philadelphia on September 27, 1803, due to tuberculosis and was buried at New York's Saint John's Cemetery.

[1] She debuted in London's Haymarket Theatre in 1784, playing a dwarf in Thomas Holcroft's comic opera, The Noble Peasant.

[7] The Hodgkinsons sailed to America in 1792[2] after entering a contract with John Henry together with eight other actors including Brett's mother as well as her sister and her husband, William King.

[8] An account by William Dunlap described Frances Hodgkinson as a versatile actress, who "surpassed all her contemporaries in rustic comedy and singing parts, in chambermaids and soubrettes.

[8] Although her husband was paid $70, her remuneration was still significantly ahead of her peers such as Hallam and his wife, whose combined salary amounted to $50.