Feisty Facts About Adah Isaacs Menken, The First Scandal-Maker
The world of celebrity is all about gossip, scandal, and larger-than-life personalities—and nobody knew that better than Adah Isaacs Menken. This 19th-century actress didn't just entertain, she made headlines.
After capturing the public’s attention with a sensational stunt, she kept people talking with her multiple marriages, one-of-a-kind wardrobe, and above all, a spirit no one could stifle.
1. She Lied About Her Start
Adah Isaacs Menken was born on June 15, 1835—but that’s about all we know for sure of her earliest days. Conflicting stories about Menken’s origins abound, but there's a secret behind all of them. The future drama queen herself made up wildly different accounts of her beginnings, including multiple birthplaces on multiple continents.
Whatever the truth, there's one thing we know for sure: Adah got her flair for the dramatic young.
2. She Loved To Show Off
Adah was a natural performer and something of an attention hog. She danced in the ballet at New Orleans’ French Opera House, rode horses with abandon, and mastered three languages before working as a language tutor to make ends meet.
Intelligent and quickly becoming beautiful, it looked like the world was Adah's oyster...but she was already turning into a wild child.
3. She Rebelled Against Her Family
Before she hit the age of consent, Adah caused a family crisis. The young girl started making public speeches for the presidential candidate Franklin Pierce—super scandalous for a time when women were supposed to be meek and quiet. Her mother, horrified, demanded she stop. Adah refused, writing in her diary “The woman of today is not slave, but free!”
In the end, though, these antics just turned out to be child's play.
4. A Stranger Swept Her Off To Sea
Practically the minute Adah turned 18, she ramped up her rebel antics to a whole new level. While she was tutoring the daughter of the dashing Baron Friedrich von Eberstadt, the nobleman asked Adah to come with him on a trip to Havana, Cuba.
No, this was nowhere near a decent proposal—but Adah had no idea what she was getting into.
