Tilley, Vesta (1864-1952)
Two Period Images of the Performer Dressed as a Man.

Born Matilda Alice Powles in Worcester, England, young Vesta Tilley's father was a musician, emcee, and stage manager. She was best known for her music hall performances depicting men, mostly dandies and fops. Making her stage debut at the age of three, Tilley began singing professionally in men's roles at six. As an adult, Tilley graduated to exclusively male roles. "I felt that I could express myself better if I were dressed as a boy." By the 1890s she was known as the London Idol and was the highest paid female performer in the entertainment business. Although Tilley lived the life of a cisgender heterosexual woman, the public spectacle of her performances undoubtedly created a space or at least an inflection point signaling difference and tacit although weak acceptance of queer identity in the Victorian era.

Condition
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