[Head-and-shoulders portrait of actress Ethel Barrymore,...

Ethel Mae Blythe (stage name Ethel Barrymore) was the 2nd child of Maurice Barrymore (real name Herbert Blythe) and Georgiana Drew. Her brothers were John and Lionel Barrymore. The whole family, for generations, have been actors: Drew Barrymore is her great niece. Her grandmother was an actress and theater manager - Louisa Lane Drew. Her uncle was John Drew Jr, a Broadway matinee idol and another uncle was Sidney Drew, a stage and screen star. She was born and raised in Philadelphia but her family did live in London UK for a couple of years when she was 5. They returned to the US in 1886. When her mother died at the age of 37, Ethel and Lionel were forced to go to work so they didn't finish high school. (Younger brother John went to live with their grandmother.) Ethel began her career on Broadway in a play that starred her uncle John Drew Jr and her career began. She worked continuously until 1957, just a couple of years before her death. Ethel married Russell Grisworld Colt (1882 - 1960) on March 14, 1908. They had 3 children (Samuel "Sammy', Ethel, and John). All were involved in some aspect of show business. It was a tumultuous marriage with accusations of infidelity (on Russell's part) and they divorced in 1923. Ethel never remarried, perhaps because she was a devout Catholic. Scroll down to read her obituary from The Washington Post.