Mary Ann Yates

Mary Ann Yates (1728–1787) was an English tragic actress.

The daughter of William Graham, a ship's steward and his wife, Mary, she married Richard Yates (c. 1706-1796), a well-known comedian of the time.

[1] In 1754, aged 25, she appeared at Drury Lane as Marcia in Samuel Crisp's Virginia.

She was in turn succeeded and eclipsed by the famous Sarah Siddons.

[1] There were benefit performances for Yates in 1797 at The Haymarket which included an appearance by Harriett Litchfield.

Portrait of Mary Ann Yates in The Orphan of China , circa 1765, by Tilly Kettle .
Mary Ann Yates as Medea (by Richard Glover ), mezzotint by William Dickinson , 1771
Memorial in St Mary Magdalene's Church, Richmond