Nell Gwyn (AKAÂ Gwynn or Gwynne) (1650-1687) was one of the first English actresses — in other words, one of the first actors to be a woman. She had the proverbial rags to riches story: she began as an orange girl (selling oranges at the theater), became a comedic actress and a star, and eventually mistress to King Charles II. The couple had two children. She’s become a folk heroine, and as such has made it to the screen a number of times. I have a particular affinity for Nell, both because she’s a fellow redhead, and who doesn’t love the idea of the bawdy girl gone upscale?
National Portrait Gallery.
Let’s take a look at the major representations of Nell Gwyn on screen:
English Nell (1900)
Who played her? Marie Tempest, an English actress.
What’s it about? Filmed scene from a play, which was in turn based on a novel.
Nell Gwynne (1911)
AKAÂ Sweet Nell of Old Drury
Who played her? Nellie Stewart, an Australian actress (this was an Australian production).
What’s it about? Another based on a play, about Nell and Charles II. The film is now lost.
Mistress Nell (1915)
Who played her? Mary Pickford, probably the most popular actress of the silent era.
What’s it about? The relationship between Nell and Charles II.
Nell Gwyn (1926)
Who played her? Dorothy Gish, sister of Lillian and major star of the silent era.
What’s it about? Nell and Charles, naturally, this time based on a 1926 novel.
Love, Life, & Laughter (1934)
Who played her? Gracie Fields, English actress and singer.
What’s it about? A comedy in which Nell falls in love with the “Prince of Granau.”
Nell Gwyn (1934)
Who played her? Anna Neagle, English actress who would later play Queen Victoria.
What’s it about? Nell and Chuck, baby!
Hudson’s Bay (1941)
Who played her? Virginia Field, an actress who was semi-successful in film but more successful on Broadway.
What’s it about? Fictionalized story about a Canadian explorer who convinces Charles II to fund an expedition of conquest.
Cardboard Cavalier (1949)
Who played her? Margaret Lockwood, English actress who starred in many of the 1940s Gainsborough Studios costume movies (including the lead in the 1945 version of The Wicked Lady).
What’s it about? Comedy about a tradesman who, along with Nell, becomes enmeshed in the English Civil War (on the Royalist side).
Let’s Make Up (1954)
AKAÂ Lilacs in the Spring
Who played her? Anna Neagle, who played Nell in the 1934 film (above).
What’s it about? A modern-day actress must choose between two lovers. She has extended dream sequences in which she is Nell Gwyn and then Queen Victoria.
The Wicked Lady (1983)
Apparently Teresa Codling played Nell in what must be a bit part in the film, because I have no memory of her being a character and I can’t find any images! It is, however, a great film if you like the late 17th century and a hilarious film if you like cheese, so I recommend it.
England, My England (1995)
Who played her? Lucy Speed, an English actress known for soap EastEnders, and who had small parts in Shakespeare in Love and Impromptu.
What’s it about? The life of composer Henry Purcell, with Simon Callow as Charles II, seen through the eyes of a 1960s playwright.
The Last King: The Power and the Passion of Charles II (2003)
AKAÂ Charles II: The Power & the Passion or The Last King
Who played her? Emma Pierson, English actress who was also in Little Dorrit (2008) and Suffragist comedy Up the Women (2013-15).
What’s it about? Four-part miniseries about Charles II, focusing on his various mistresses, including Nell. Rufus Sewell plays Chuck, Rupert Graves is the Duke of Buckingham, Helen McCrory is Barbara Villiers…
Is it any good? YES, YES, YES.
Stage Beauty (2004)
Who played her? Zoë Tapper, English actress who has also been in Mr. Selfridge, Cheerful Weather for the Wedding, Desperate Romantics, Affinity, and A Harlot’s Progress.
What’s it about? A female dresser who becomes the first actress once the ban on women actors is lifted, and the male actor who became a star for playing female roles. Charles II and Nell are smaller characters.
Is it any good? YES, YES, YES.
What’s your favorite representation of Nell Gwyn on screen?
Stage Beauty & The Last King. Rufus Sewell and Rupert Everett. Needs one say more.
Is it just me, or do Emma Pierson and Karen Gillan look like they were separated at birth?
Totally!!
Stage Beauty is my forever favorite Nell. It’s the shout of “bitch” that really did it. I want that as a ringtone.
Ha! I can’t remember which production included the “Yes I’m a whore, but at least I’m an ENGLISH whore!” but I loved that!
Legendary Nell Gwynn story.
She was presenting her son to his father—the King—and when told to call the boy forward, said, “Come here, you little bastard!” When the King asked her why she called the child that, she told him that in truth, she didn’t know what to call him—hint, hint—and immediately secured a title for her son.
The anecdote from history is actually even better. She was supposedly surrounded by an anti-catholic mob and said “I’m the Protestant whore” to calm them. Apocryphal? Probably. Awesome? Definitely.
Totally!
I fell in love with this packaging back in my art school days:
https://assets.winsornewton.com/imagefiles/productDetail/3804.jpg
My husband & I saw the Dorothy Gish film at the art museum New Haven years ago as part of a exhibition on late 17th century art. In that film, Nell was less a mistress and more of a court jester. We also saw the stage version of ‘Stage Beauty’ and HATED it. The actress portraying Nell was more ;like Liza Doolittle before she learned to speak well. We skipped the film. BTW, the huge hat in the first picture is based on one of Nell’s roles, in which she wore a huge hat to lampoon someone (can’t remember if it was a rival actress or political figure, though).
I saw Compleat Female Stage Beauty on stage, and I was thoroughly disappointed by the actress playing Nell. It was all the more disappointing because I enjoyed the movie version. The Nell I saw on stage had an awful accent (possibly intentional) and was portrayed as a bit dim, which took the teeth out of some of her more delightful lines.
Stage Beauty is one of my all-time favorite movies, so that is definitely my favorite Nell. It’s the reason I fell in love with the 17th c, too.
Personally I think The Last King is the best interpretation for the King Charles story, but I think Zoë Tapper is the better version.