ELSSLER, FANNY Austrian dancer, was born in Vienna on June 23, 181o. From her earliest years she was trained for the ballet, and made her appearance at the Karntner Thor theatre in Vienna before she was seven. She usually danced with her sister Theresa, who was two years her senior ; and, after some years' experience together in Vienna, the two went in 1827 to Naples. Their success there—to which Fanny contributed most—led to an engagement in Berlin in 183o. This was the be ginning of a series of triumphs for Fanny's personal beauty and skill in dancing. After captivating all hearts in Berlin and Vienna, and inspiring the statesman Friedrich von Gentz (q.v.) with a remarkable passion, she visited London, where she received much kindness at the hands of Mr. and Mrs. Grote, who practically adopted the little girl who was born three months after the mother's arrival in England. In Sept. 1834 Fanny Elssler appeared at the Opera in Paris, a step to which she looked forward with much misgiving on account of Taglioni's supremacy there. The result was the temporary eclipse of Taglioni, who, although a finer artist, could not compete with the newcomer's personal charm. In her performance of the Spanish cachucha Fanny Elssler outshone all rivals. In 1845, having amassed a fortune from tours in America and in Europe, she retired from the stage and settled near Hamburg. Her sister Theresa contracted a morganatic mar riage with Prince Adalbert of Prussia, and was ennobled under the title of Baroness von Barnim. Fanny Elssler died at Vienna on Nov. 27, 1884. Theresa was left a widow in 1873, and died on Nov. 19, 1878.
See A. Ehrharde, Une vie de danseuse: Fanny Elssler (Igo.)).