Madame Ponisi

At an early age, she made her stage debut at Barnard Castle, Durham, England, as Amy in Father and Son.

Her debut there, at the Broadway Theatre, occurred on 11 November 1850, as Lady Teazle in The School for Scandal, with William Davidge.

She did not enjoy the roving life, however, and soon returned to New York, where she played special engagements until 1871, when she joined Lester Wallack's company, staying until it was disbanded in 1888.

[citation needed] Her roles included Tabitha Stork in Rosedale, Mrs. Malaprop in The Rivals, the Marquise in Caste, Suzanne in L'Abbé Constantin, Helen Macgregor in Rob Roy, Mrs. Hardcastle in She Stoops to Conquer, Mrs. Cregan in The Colleen Bawn, Sarah Matheson in Patrie, Lady Franklin in Money, Widow O'Kelly in The Shaughraun, Lady Shendryn in Ours, Mrs. Macclesfield in The Gov'nor, the Marquise del Rio Zares in Diplomacy, Countess Pompion in Old Heads and Young Hearts, the Duchess in The Duke's Motto, Francesca da Rimini in George Henry Boker's tragedy of that name, Mrs. Vandam in Oofty-Gooft, Black Eyed Susan in the play of that name, the Duchess of York in Richard III, Desdemona and Emilia in Othello, Volumnia in Coriolanus, Cordelia in King Lear, and Juliet to Charlotte Cushman's Romeo, among others.

She played several male characters, including Sir Edward Ardent in The Morning Call, and Romeo.