Mrs. Warren's Profession Janet Achurch

The English actress Janet Achurch was a friend of George Bernard Shaw, who pointed him to the short story Yvette by Guy de Maupassant as a possible source of inspiration for a play. In addition to working as an actress, Achurch managed the Novelty Theatre in London. In 1897, Shaw refused to allow his play Candida to be performed unless Achurch played the lead role. After giving birth to a stillborn child, she became addicted to morphine and eventually died of morphine poisoning at the age of 52.