Florence Eliza Collingbourne was a British actress, singer and stage beauty known for her appearances in Edwardian musical comedies. One of George Edwardes' Gaiety Girls, she took over the title role in San Toy and originated the role of Nancy Staunton in The Toreador.
Florence Collingbourne in the title role in San Toy (1901)
Gaiety Girls were the chorus girls in Edwardian musical comedies, beginning in the 1890s at the Gaiety Theatre, London, in the shows produced by George Edwardes. The popularity of this genre of musical theatre depended, in part, on the beautiful dancing corps of "Gaiety Girls" appearing onstage in bathing attire and in the latest fashions. The 1890s Gaiety Girls were respectable, elegant young ladies, unlike the actresses from London's earlier musical burlesques. Later, even the stars of these musical comedies were referred to as Gaiety Girls.
Gaiety Girls in The Geisha, 1896; Blanche Massey center
Poster for A Gaiety Girl
Stage Door Johnnies waiting after A Gaiety Girl