Mary Shakespeare Mary Shakespeare Mary Shakespeare, née Arden, (c. 1537–1608) was the mother of William Shakespeare. She was the daughter of Wilmcote gentleman farmer Robert Arden, a cadet of the Arden family prominent in Warwickshire since before the Norman Conquest. She was the youngest of eight daughters, and when her father died in 1556 she inherited land at Snitterfield and Wilmcote from her father as a dowry. The house was left to her stepmother Agnes Hill. Richard Shakespeare, the father of John Shakespeare, was a tenant farmer on land owned by her father in Snitterfield. As the daughter of Richard's landlord, she
Leslie Arden Toronto Star has commented that her work is "beautifully crafted" and USA Today states she is a "major talent". She also wrote the Chalmers Award-winning "The Happy Prince". She collaborated with esteemed Canadian playwright Norm Foster for the musical "Ned Durango". It had its world premiere at Theatre Orangeville in May 2011. She was born Leslie Arden Jenkins in Beverly Hills, California to Canadian singer Cleone Duncan and her American performer husband, Paul Howard Jenkins. Her parents moved to Toronto and divorced when she was 6 years old. Arden says: "I was an only child and all my parents worked,