Stage Actress Maude Adams, The LGBTQ Icon Who (allegedly) Was The Inspiration For Peter Pan. Though She

Stage actress Maude Adams, the LGBTQ icon who (allegedly) was the inspiration for Peter Pan. Though she was never publicly “out”, she never married, and had many close female friendships throughout her life. Including Ethel Barrymore (Yes from the illustrious Barrymore family—the most recent being Drew).

Maude was very popular with female audiences, and due to her disinterest in men, her chastity helped her to maintain a pristine reputation throughout her life. She was often rumored to be engaged to men as an effective “smokescreen” to shield her from rumors of lesbianism. None of these relationships were anything more than just that—rumors.

After playing Peter Pan on stage, Maude reached monumental levels of stardom for the time, which made having a private life very challenging. She lived with her “secretary” until she died, and both were buried on the same plot.

Maude was a serious actress, who claimed she would never marry due to her dedication to her craft. This was a common excuse for closeted gays in the Victorian era. Her fearlessness, and paradoxically childlike innocence are inspiring to me. She lived a colorful life, and is definitely worth looking into.