Women in Magic

It’s clear that all female magicians who came afterward stand on the shoulders of Madame Herrmann (1853-1932), whose lavish stage show was graceful, elegantly costumed, and mysterious.

There are very few magic manufacturing businesses owned and operated by women, and one highly respected name in the industry is Lynetta Welch of Fabric Manipulation. Lynetta was first influenced by Ricky Jay and Doug Henning—drawn to them by their wonderful magic, and also because they rejected the traditional image of the magician in white tie and tails.

This is a summary of the profiles featured in A Celestial Celebration. As this exhibition evolves, we hope to add more and more names. If you are a star champion and have information to share about a performer, please consider reaching out to Magicana!

At nine years old she was told, "Girls can't do magic." Well, the brash boy who dismissed the young girl's question without a second thought sparked an undying flame of passion and perseverance within Celeste Evans. She would go on and become one of the most celebrated magicians of her era.

Find out how an off-putting first encounter with magic transformed—as if by magic—Maria Ibáñez's long career in magic. After rediscovering magic through her son's interest, almost overnight, Maria the magician was born.

Gloria Jerome was not just a pretty face. She was genuinely talented with cards, billiard balls, cigarettes, ropes, and silk magic. While, of course, she used her appearance to her best advantage, the “Charming Little Faker” flourished on the night club circuit for several years, offering solid and lively entertainment.

One nineteenth-century royal who went from spectator to student was Maria Henrietta, Queen Consort of Belgium, who had the unique distinction of learning magic from both of the Herrmann brothers.

Her father may have sparked her original interest, but a trip to the Columbus Magi-Fest in 1983 sealed her fate. She enroll in the Chavez school, where she studied with Neil Foster. Only the third woman to complete the course, Jania still loves to do the card fans, billiard ball productions, and zombie routine that she perfected there.

Frances Usher certainly deserves credit as one half of an extremely successful mind-reading act. She joins a long line of women—Kitty Baldwin, Agnes Zancig, Mary Floyd, to name just a few—as indispensable second-sight partners. And to clarify—these are not assistants. They are partners. Without them there is no act.