Mrs. Lovett

Mrs. Lovett
Mrs. Lovett as portrayed by Helena Bonham Carter
Portrayed byRaffaella Ottiano (1924 Broadway)
Iris Darbyshire (1928 film)
Stella Rho (1936 film)
Jane Mallett (1947 CBC Radio)
Heather Canning (1970 TV episode)
Angela Lansbury (1979 Broadway)
Sheila Hancock (1980 West End)
Gillian Hanna (1985 West End)
Julia McKenzie (1993 West End, 1994 BBC Radio)
Joanna Lumley (1998 TV movie)
Patti LuPone (2000 concert, 2005 Broadway)
Christine Baranski (2002 Kennedy Center)
Elaine Paige (2004 NYC Opera)
Essie Davis (2006 TV movie)
Helena Bonham Carter (2007 film)
Judy Kaye (2007 Canada/U.S. tour)
Imelda Staunton (2012 West End)
Emma Thompson (2014 concert)
Siobhán McCarthy (2014 West End, 2017 Off-Broadway)
Lea Salonga (2019 Manila, 2019 Singapore)
Annaleigh Ashford (2023 Broadway)
Sutton Foster (2024 Broadway)
Cornelia Löhr (2024 Hof)
In-universe information
OccupationBaker
SpouseAlbert Lovett (deceased)

Mrs. Lovett is a fictional character appearing in many adaptations of the story Sweeney Todd. Her first name is most commonly referred to as Nellie, although she has also been referred to as Amelia, Margery, Maggie, Sarah, Shirley, Wilhelmina, Mary and Claudetta.[1] A baker from London, Mrs. Lovett is an accomplice and business partner of Sweeney Todd, a barber and serial killer from Fleet Street. She makes meat pies from Todd’s victims.

First appearing in the Victorian penny dreadful serial The String of Pearls, it is debated if she was based on an actual person or not.[2] The character also appears in modern media related to Sweeney Todd including the Stephen Sondheim musical and its 2007 film adaptation.

  1. ^ Mack, Robert L. (2007). The Wonderful and Surprising History of Sweeney Todd: The Life and Times of an Urban Legend. London, England: Bloomsbury Academic. p. 307. ISBN 978-0826497918.
  2. ^ "Sweeney Todd: Fresh Meat Pies". Crimelibrary.com. Archived from the original on 10 April 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2008.