Australian trapeze artist and later a musical theatre actress
Kate Rickards was an Australian trapeze artist and later a musical theatre actress. Born in Melbourne, she began performing as a trapeze artist in Australia at the age of 11 under the name "Katie Angel" and later toured the United States, England, and South Africa under the management of the British-born vaudeville performer and impresario Harry Rickards. She and Rickards married in 1880, after which she had a career as a musical theatre actress under the name "Kate Leete". Following her retirement from the stage in 1894, she designed costumes for the Rickards shows for several years and devoted herself to charity work. She died at the age of 59 aboard a ship sailing from England to Australia and was buried at sea.
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