Rosalinde Fuller

Rosalinde Fuller
Born	Rosalind Ivy Fuller 16 February 1892 Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, UK
Died	15 September 1982 London, England, UK
Occupation	Actress

Rosalinde Fuller MBE (16 February 1892 – 15 September 1982) was a British actress, born as Rosalind Ivy Fuller.

Rosalind Ivy Fuller was the third of four daughters born to a Portsmouth draper, whose eldest child was a son, Walter (born 1881). Behind the draper’s shop was a hall in which Mr Fuller organized free public entertainment on Sunday afternoons, having his daughters recite, sing and play various instruments – the eldest girl learned the harp, for instance. Rosalind, who was called Ivy by her family until she was 21, when she opted for her first given name, always disliked having to perform on stage because she suffered agonies of self-consciousness.

Having incautiously underwritten a friend’s research, Mr Fuller was made bankrupt in 1908, and Walter (who was editing periodicals in London) became financially responsible for the family. He had always encouraged his eldest sister to collect and learn folksongs; in 1911, she and Rosalind visited Cecil Sharp, the great collector of folksongs, and sang him some. He was entranced and immediately had them demonstrate for him, first at the Festival of Empire and then at the Stratford-upon-Avon Summer School of Folksong and Dance. Visiting Americans exclaimed how charming they sounded, and they formed a project of going to the United States to perform over there.

Walter embraced the idea of making their fortunes in the New World. With him as their musical director, impresario, and chaperone, the three older sisters – including Rosalind, then – arrived in New York at Christmas 1911, with enough money for three weeks in a hotel. They would have to make enough money by singing to pay for their return ticket. They were an instant success; within six months they were invited to sing at the White House, but left for home before they could fit the President into their busy schedule. At this point, the eldest sister (who had studied the harp and singing at the Royal College of Music) got married and was replaced by the youngest. As The Fuller Sisters they continued making immensely successful tours, with Rosalind their most bewitching performer. President Woodrow Wilson invited them to sing for him on two occasions, once at the White House and once at his summer residence. Their career ended when the entry of the US into World War I wiped out the demand for folksongs.

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