Desdemona Hagen appeared in the role opposite Robeson in Margaret Webster's production at the Shubert Theatre in New York City in 1943. In cinema, Suzanne Cloutier played Desdemona opposite Orson Welles in a version that won the Palme D'Or at the 1952 Cannes Film Festival. In a 1966 film which holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations given to a Shakespeare film, Maggie Smith played the character opposite Laurence Olivier. Smith and co-stars Olivier, Frank Finlay (Iago), and Joyce Redman (Emilia) all received acting nominations. Irène Jacob played the character in a 1995 film opposite Laurence Fishburne. There have
Emilia (Othello) mention in the source of the ensign's wife being Desdemona's attendant. In Cinthio, the ensign's wife accompanies her husband to Cyprus. She is described as "a beautiful and virtuous young woman" who, "being of Italian birth...was much loved by the Moor's wife, who spent the greater part of the day with her." The ensign, "not heeding at all the vows he had made his wife", lusts after Desdemona who, very much in love with the Moor, is oblivious to the ensign's passion. In Cinthio, the ensign filches Desdemona's handkerchief when she visits his house and hugs his three-year-old daughter. It