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It is very difficult to find accurate, verifiable information about Jeanne Eagels' early years, so
there is little to report about this period of her life. She was born in Kansas City, MO, as Amelia Jean Eagles
on June 26, 1890. Many periodicals and websites list her year of birth as 1894, but this is incorrect. Her parents were
Julia Sullivan Eagles and Edward Eagles and she had two sisters and three brothers. Her parents were of humble origins and
her formal schooling may have ended around the time she was 11.
Early on Jeanne displayed a single-minded determination
to be an actress. She was bitten by the acting bug after appearing in a Shakespeare play- either "A Midsummer's Night
Dream" or "Hamlet". Her accounts of the first part she played differed in newspaper interviews.
After playing bit parts at local theaters, she joined the Dubinsky Brothers' traveling theater company as a dancer around
the age of 12. She soon worked her way into playing leading roles in classic and popular dramas, including "Camille", "Romeo
and Juliet", "Uncle Tom's Cabin", and "Little Lord Fauntleroy."
Jeanne allegedly married Morris Dubinsky, the eldest
of the brothers, but no marriage certificate has been found. The relationship was not destined to last. The reasons
for the separation are unknown, although infedility on Dubinky's part may have played a role. According to stories she
told others, she had a son by Dubinksy, but the child died in infancy, causing her to have a severe nervous breakdown.
In other accounts, she and Dubinsky gave the child up for adoption to close friends. Some doubt she ever
had a child at all and made up these stories. While travelling about the U.S., Jeanne accepted a part in touring
company outside of the Dubinksy troupe, and eventually she reached New York City.
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