Marie Prescott
Marie Prescott (1850 – August 28, 1893) was an American stage actress and playwright. She is best known for starring in and co-producing Vera; or, The Nihilists, the first play by Oscar Wilde. Early life and career Prescott was born in 1850 in Nicholas County, Kentucky. She married in 1869 and, between 1870 and 1873, gave birth to three sons, one of whom died in infancy. In 1877 she made her stage debut as Lady Macbeth in Cincinnati. She found work in a number of stock companies, appearing alongside such stars as Lawrence Barrett and Dion Boucicault, and between 1880 and 1883 toured with the Italian tragedian Tommaso Salvini and her own companies. Having obtained a divorce from her first husband in 1881, Prescott married William Perzel, the proprietor of a delicatessen store, and appointed him her manager. In October 1882 Prescott sued the American News Company for publishing provocative stories about her private life, leading to a high-profile court case. She won the case and was awarded $12,500 in damages (), though the judgment was later overturned. Vera; or, The Nihilists In November 1882 Prescott and Perzel met with the Irish poet Oscar Wilde, who was then touring America