Women in Magic

It was tough to pick just one. I could feature thousands of performers who have assisted magicians, and each one would have a separate story to tell. But to stand in for them all, I’ve selected Velvet Mandrake, who for nearly forty years worked alongside one of our most celebrated illusionists, Mandrake the Magician.

Beverly truly represents "the magic of perseverance." While her father may have sparked the initial interest in magic, this magician and author found her true calling as a stage performer, all on her own. Her story of resilience is as inspiring as her magic.

She was a resilient, pioneering magician who had a family with strong magic ties. She also grew up performing on stage. When her father died in 1939, she took over his show and as a young, Black woman, she toured successfully through the segregated South.

Lupe embodies the diversity of talents those of her gender bring to magic. A skilled close-up artist, a successful business person and a highly accomplished builder—these are but a few of the incredible skills Lupe Nielsen offers the magic community.

She married into magic early in life, at the age of nineteen. With no theatrical training in her formative years, Emma Reno was a quick and agile student of magic, and soon had her own magic act allowing her and her husband to maintain not one but two successful acts in the early 1900s.

Women have done quite a bit of fortune-telling, crystal-gazing, and mind-reading, especially during the vaudeville era. Many were flash-in-the-pan acts, but one who lasted for over fifteen years—often as a headliner—was Leona LaMar, “The Girl with 1,000 Eyes.”

Starting a career in magic around 1948, she presented colourful bird act that was presented elegantly, beautifully, garnering high praise for her glowing performances. She was also an integral part of her and her husband's electrifying act—setting the stage for Mr. Electric and Carol to emerge.

When she wrote in her 1944 high school yearbook that she wanted to be a performer, Ruth Taylor had little idea that her wish would come true. Her natural out-going personality and flare for the stage, forged her and her husband a successful career in magic.

She enjoyed a brief but highly successful career in the Forties as the Midwest's Leading Lady Magician. She had a two-hour show with illusions—and wisely featured the production of a huge rabbit named Johnnie, which often afforded her great publicity pictures for the local newspaper.