'A Biography of Gracie Fields'
By
Peter Hudson

Gracie Fields was born on 9th January 1898 over her grandmother's fish and chip shop in Molesworth St, Rochdale,  to Fred and Jenny Stansfield.

Almost from infancy Gracie had it instilled in her that the theatre was of paramount importance. Her mother Jenny had wanted to go on the stage but when she saw that this was not possible she pushed her talented daughter Grace  there instead. 

A rare publicity photograph from 1929 by Janet Jevons.
An original owned by Gracie.

Gracie had a hard struggle in the early days of touring in juvenile troupes and working part-time in the factory. It wasn't until she met cockney comedian Archie Pitt that her career really started. ( He didn't give her talent but rather helped to promote the talent she already had). Their first review together in 1915 was entitled 'Yes I think so' and this led to many other successful reviews.  She married Archie Pitt in 1923.