Frances Maria Kelly, also known as Fanny, was an English actress and singer. She is best known for her acting at the Drury Lane Theatre in London's West End and her opening of the Royalty Theatre and Dramatic School in Soho, known as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School, in 1840, for the training of young women. Prior to this, in 1833 Kelly managed the Royal Strand Theatre in Westminster, where she operated a dramatic school, the earliest record of a drama school in England.

The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho. Established by the actress Frances Maria Kelly in 1840, it opened as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938. The architect was Samuel Beazley. The theatre's opening was ill-fated, and it was little used for a decade. It changed its name twice and was used by an opera company, amateur drama companies and for French pieces.