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Harriet Constance Smithson (18 March 1800 – 3 March 1854), who also went by Henrietta Constance Smithson, Harriet Smithson Berlioz, and Miss H.C. Smithson, was an Anglo-Irish Shakespearean actress of the 19th century, best known as the first wife and muse of Hector Berlioz.
Early life
Harriet Smithson was born on 18 March 1800, at Ennis, County Clare, Kingdom of Ireland. Her father, William Joseph Smithson, was an actor and theatrical manager from Gloucestershire, England, and her mother was an actress whose full name is unknown. After Barrett's death on 16 February 1808, the Smithsons sent Harriet to a boarding school in Waterford.
Success in Paris
In 1827, Smithson made her Paris début as Lydia Languish in The Rivals at the Odéon theatre. Though she received negative reviews for this role, she was highly praised for her beauty and ability in the subsequent performance of She Stoops to Conquer.</blockquote>
thumb|left|Charles Kemble and Harriet Smithson as Romeo and Juliet
The tremendous success of Hamlet led to that of Romeo & Juliet, for 15 September. Smithson was cast as Juliet, where she revolutionized the women's role in theatre by becoming as important as her male counterpart, Romeo.</blockquote>
On 18 September, Shakespeare's Othello became the third Shakespeare tragedy to be performed by The English Theatre. Her performance as Desdemona was less effective, but the production was popular enough to be repeated the week after.</blockquote>
However, just seven days after her next performance as Juliet, in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the press, including The Examiner, gave her glowing reviews:
<blockquote>Miss Smithson's performance of Juliet, take it as a whole, is by many degrees the best we have seen since the days of Miss O'Neil…She is the best tragic actress now in London.</blockquote>
She appeared as Belvidera in Venice Preserved and as Mrs. Simpson in Simpson and Co on the Lincoln Circuit at the Peterborough theatre between 27 June and 2 July 1831. After Covent Garden closed for the summer in 1832, Smithson toured minor theatres in England, performing almost exclusively in tragedies.
Marriage to Hector Berlioz
Berlioz discovered Smithson at the Odéon Theatre performing the roles of Juliet Capulet and Ophelia and immediately fell in love with her. He persistently sent her letters despite never having met her.