Maria Coventry, Countess of Coventry
Maria Coventry, Countess of Coventry (1733 – September 30, 1760), was a famous London beauty and society hostess during the reign of King George II.
Life
She was born Maria Gunning in Hemingford Grey, Huntingdonshire, the daughter of John Gunning of Castle Coote and his wife Bridget Bourke, herself a daughter of the 6th Viscount Mayo. Her sister Elizabeth was born a year later. Although her beginnings were humble, Maria Gunning would go on to become one of the most celebrated beauties of her day.[1]
When Maria and her sister Elizabeth came of age, their mother urged them to take up acting in order to earn a living, due to the family's relative poverty. The Gunning sisters traveled to Dublin and worked for some time at the city's theatres, befriending actors like Peg Woffington, even though acting was not considered a respectable profession as many actresses of that time doubled as courtesans to wealthy benefactors. To attract potential suitors, the girls were encouraged to attend social events.
One such event was held at Dublin Castle by the Viscountess Petersham. The two sisters did not have any dresses for the gathering until Tom Sheridan, the manager of one of the theatres the young women had appeared in, supplied them with two costumes from the green room, those of Lady Macbeth and Juliet. Wearing the costumes, they were presented to the Earl of Harrington, the then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. The two sisters then traveled to London in 1751 from Ireland and starred in many shows at the West End shows and New Spring Gardens, and were presented at the Royal Court as well. In both environments, crowds and courtiers would clamber to see both sisters and they became celebrities within months.
Within a year, her sister Elizabeth had married the Duke of Hamilton.[2] In March 1752, Maria married the 6th Earl of Coventry and became the Countess of Coventry. For their honeymoon, the Earl and Countess traveled around Europe accompanied by Lady Petersham, but neither ladies enjoyed it much, especially Maria who particularly disliked Paris. The Countess's ignorance of the French language and her husband's decision not to allow her to wear red powder as makeup (which was fashionable in Paris at the time) intensified her dislike of the city and the trip. On one occasion, her husband saw her arrive at dinner with powder on her face and tried to rub it off with his handkerchief.
Maria's popularity and beauty was such, that on her return to London, she was mobbed when she appeared in Hyde Park and was eventually given a guard by the King, led by the Earl of Pembroke. Her husband became involved with then famous courtesan Kitty Fisher, which caused Maria much stress. Of one occasion, Giustiniana Wynne, visiting London at the time, wrote:
The other day they ran into each other in the park and Lady Coventry asked Kitty the name of the dressmaker who had made her dress. Kitty Fisher answered she had better ask Lord Coventry as he had given her the dress as a gift." The altercation continued with Lady Coventry calling her an impertinent woman, and Kitty replying that she would have to accept this insult because Maria was socially superior since marrying Lord Coventry, but she was going to marry a Lord herself just to be able to answer back.[3]
Maria, also, became involved in at least one affair. She was rumored to have been involved romantically with the 3rd Duke of Grafton, but this was never confirmed beyond a doubt.[4]
Death
She continued to utilize heavy makeup, simply because it was stylish. Had she paid heed to her husband's actions against her wearing lead-based makeup in Paris for the rest of her days, her death eight years later (at the age of 27) may not have been so early. However, throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, it was fashionable for ladies to have pale white skin and red rouged cheeks and use lead as a basis for their makeup. It was the noxious effects of the lead which caused skin eruptions (which also encouraged ladies to powder their skins more vigorously to mask their blemishes) and eventually blood-poisoning which killed Maria on September 30, 1760. Originally known simply as a beautiful but vain woman, she eventually became known in society circles as a "victim of cosmetics".