Mrs. Hannah Pritchard (1711–1768) excelled as Beatrice in 1748.

When David Garrick became patentee of Drury Lane in 1747 she joined his company and played with him for twenty years, her last appearance being as Lady Macbeth - one of her greatest roles - in April 1768, a few months before her death. According to contemporary critics Mrs. Pritchard's acting was as distinguished as Garrick's. Both were praised for their performances in Much Ado About Nothing, in which they appeared in 1748. Murphy says “Mrs. Pritchard was Garrick’s rival in every scene.” Thomas Davies felt that “The excellent action of Mrs. Pritchard in Beatrice was not inferior to that of Benedick.” But Walpole asserted that “there was more spirit and originality in her Beatrice than his Benedick.” Picture and some data courtesy of the Yorck Project, under Creative Commons Attribution-Share- Alike License (Wikipedia).