Mary Knep

Mary Knep (died 1681), also Knepp, Nepp, Knip, or Knipp, was an English actress, one of the first generation of female performers to appear on the public stage during the Restoration era.

"Primarily a singer and dancer, Mrs. Knep developed into a first-rate actress." She began her career with the King's Company under the management of Thomas Killigrew. She made her debut in the title role of Jonson's Epicene on 1 June 1664. (She was cast as Lucetta in Killigrew's 1664 planned production of his Thomaso, with an all-female cast, which was cancelled before completion.) Knep played major and minor roles in a range of productions of the 1660s and 1670s, including: