Lola Montez, Irish Dancer and Courtesan Dies in New York

Eliza Rosanna Gilbert, Countess of Landsfeld (17 February 1821 – 17 January 1861), better known by the stage name Lola Montez, was an Irish dancer and actress who became famous as a Spanish dancer, courtesan, and mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who made her Gräfin von Landsfeld (Countess of Landsfeld).

At the start of the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states, she was forced to flee. She proceeded to the United States via Austria, Switzerland, France and London, to return to her work as an entertainer and lecturer.

Born in 1821 in County Sligo, Ireland, she gained international fame for her provocative and exotic dance performances, particularly her “spider dance.” She became the mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria and wielded significant influence at the Bavarian court.

Lola Montez later traveled extensively, performing in various countries and becoming a notable figure in Europe and the United States.

Later life in the U.S.

Lola failed in her attempts at a theatrical comeback in various American cities. She arranged in 1857 to deliver a series of moral lectures in Britain and America written by Rev. Charles Chauncey Burr. She spent her last days in rescue work among women. In November 1859, The Philadelphia Press reported that Lola Montez was:

living very quietly up town, and doesn’t have much to do with the world’s people. Some of her old friends, the Bohemians, now and then drop in to have a little chat with her, and though she talks beautifully of her present feelings and way of life, she generally, by way of parenthesis, takes out her little tobacco pouch and makes a cigarette or two for self and friend, and then falls back upon old times with decided gusto and effect. But she doesn’t tell anybody what she’s going to do.

Death

By 1860, Lola was showing the tertiary effects of syphilis, and her body began to waste away. She died at the age of 39 on 17 January 1861. She is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, where her tombstone states: “Mrs. Eliza Gilbert | Died 17 January 1861 | Æ. 42”. (“Æ.” abbreviates aetate, Latin for “at the age of”.)

She eventually passed away on January 17, 1861, in New York City.

Her life and career continue to be a subject of historical interest and fascination due to her unconventional and controversial lifestyle.