Run Away to the Circus

with History’s Female Circus Stars

From death-defying stunts on the flying trapeze to taming wild beasts, women and femme-presenting performers have long been part of the circus world. 

The circus was the peak of entertainment in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As the number of women in the workplace more than doubled from 1870 to 1910, the prevalence of women in the circus expanded as well. A life in the circus offered women independence and adventure – they were able to earn their own money for their skills, and in some cases became celebrities who earned more fame and fortune than their male counterparts.

These women challenged the Victorian ideals of domesticity and feminine propriety with performances that celebrated female power, strength, and physicality. Audiences clamored for a seat under the big top to get a tillating, exotic glimpse into the limits of the human body in a setting that was considered socially acceptable. 

Here are just a few noted female circus performers:

Leona Dare

Leona Dare (1855-1922)

Billed as: “Queen of the Antilles” and “The Comet of 1873”

Specialty: Balloon ascensions and iron jaw

Leona Dare (born Susan Adeline Stuart) was an American aerialist, known for her bold stunts performed on a trapeze or hanging from a hot air balloon. She often used the “iron jaw” where she would dangle by her feet from her trapeze, holding her partner up using only the strength of her bite. A performance in 1872 marked her first balloon ascension, an act she eventually toured around the world. While she was suspended under a hot air balloon approximately three hundred feet in the air, Dare would lift her partner off the ground, holding him by his waistband with her teeth. The sight of a strong woman holding the weight of a man rallied against the image of women as docile or weak, and challenged the popular notion that physical exercise was harmful for women. Some of her costumes and mouthpieces are on display at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane.

Miss La La

Miss La La (1858-1945)

Billed as: “La Femme Cannon” 

Specialty: Iron jaw aerialist


Miss La La (born Anna Olga Albertina Brown), was an Afro-German aerialist who began performing at the age of nine. She was known for her performances on the flying trapeze, as well as her iron jaw and cannonball acts. Her signature acts involved being pulled up to the height of the circus tent by biting down on a rope or hoisting a 200-pound cannon with her teeth. She was the star of Troupe Kaira, a traveling circus act, and performed with the Cirque Fernando, based in Montmartre, France. Miss La La was immortalized in Edgar Degas’ Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando (1879), which hangs in the National Gallery in London.

Mabel Stark

Mabel Stark (1889-1968)

Billed as: “The Tiger Queen”

Specialty: Tiger taming

Mabel Stark (born Mary Ann Haynie) was working as a nurse when she was offered a job in the Al G. Barnes Circus. She initially trained goats and performed with horses, and after several years she began working with big cats. She shunned other trainer’s abusive behavior toward their animals, saying “kindness and patience are the biggest factors in training.” She became a tiger trainer in the ring – the first American woman to take up the dangerous profession. She joined Ringling Brothers in 1922 and became one of the most famous big cat tamers in the world. In 1938, she made history working with both tigers and lions at the same time – a first for a female trainer. In her popular act, she would roll around with some of her 18 tigers giving the impression of a perilous struggle.

“Because I was a woman and grew tired of hearing men trainers say that a woman could not do this or that, I broke a twelve tiger act sixteen years ago and began wrestling tigers eight years ago. And now I’m going to have my twenty tiger act – the biggest tiger act in the business!”

-Mabel Stark 

Lillian Leitzel

Lillian Leitzel (1892-1931)

Billed as: “Queen of the Air” and “Dainty Miss Leitzel”

Specialty: One-arm planges and Roman Rings

Lillian Leitzel (née Leopoldina Alitza Pelikan) was born to a circus family and grew up in Germany. After touring Europe with her mother’s acrobatic troupe, the Leamy Ladies, she joined Ringling Brothers Circus in 1911. Leitzel was best known for her one-arm planges: dangling from a rope by one hand, she would propel herself up and around, dislocating her shoulder with each rotation. Audiences would count along with each revolution – often as many as 100, and sometimes up to 240. The four-foot-nine aerialist quickly became a star, earning more per week than most Americans’ yearly salary. Known for her ferocious temper, Leitzel broke the stereotype of women as meek and agreeable. She encouraged women to exercise to stay healthy, in spite of lingering Victorian notions that athleticism made women ugly and manlike. She was the first inductee (posthumously) into the International Circus Hall of Fame in 1958.

“Down with the corset. Put a brick in the atrocious garment and hurl it into the Niagara River.”

  • Lillian Leitzel, during a 1923 newspaper interview

May Wirth

May Wirth (1894-1978)

Billed as: “The World’s Greatest Bareback Rider”

Specialty: Bareback riding and tumbling


A young orphan, May Wirth started performing as a contortionist at 5 years old, and was adopted by Australian circus rider Marilyas Wirth Martin in 1901. She made her debut with Ringling Brothers at Madison Square Garden at age 17. Known for her legendary front somersault on horseback, during her performances, Wirth would leap from horse to horse, completing flips and twists that dazzled audiences. She was inducted into the Ringling Museum and Circus Hall of Fame in 1964.


Barbara Woodcock

Barbara Woodcock (1934-2020)

Specialty: Elephant trainer and stunt performer

Barbara Woodcock’s career began in the 1930s as a child working with her parents at their small circus, Marlowe’s Mighty Hippodrome. She was a leopard trainer and aerialist until she met her future husband, William “Buckles” Woodcock, who came from a long line of elephant trainers. Barbara joined William’s act, bringing her flamboyant showmanship and helping with costumes and stunt choreography. The duo and their beloved elephants – including Anna May, America’s most famous elephant – performed in the Big Apple Circus from 1982 to 2000.


Tanya Gagné

Tanya Gagné

Billed as: “Innovator of Punk Rock Circus”

Specialty: Aerialist, hula hoop, and cabaret


Tanya Gagné's interest in trapeze started in a Washington barn more than 20 years ago while she was house-sitting for comedy juggling troupe the Flying Karamazoff Brothers. She trained with aerialist Irina Gold, and at circus schools in London, France, and San Francisco. Gagné has become known for her unique blend of circus, burlesque, and bawdy comedy. She’s one half of the inimitable, neo-vaudeville sensation the Wau Wau Sisters as well as a long-time veteran of La Soireé, La Clique, the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus and Circus Amok. Gagné teaches and directs circus arts and theater and her work has been an award winner at the Edinburgh, Brighton and Adelaide Fringe. Audiences may know her character Goldie Hen from her America’s Got Talent (season 20), where Simon Cowell called her “the funniest act I’ve seen all year.” She was also the aerial director for Macha Theatre Works’ 2019 production of “Blood Water Paint.”


Birds Of Play

Directed by Tanya Gagné

with Leila Noone, Bella Schleiker & Manny Manstands

July 9 - 25, 2026

Birds of Play returns to Seattle Public Theater with Joy Rides (Tanya Gagné) , Goldie Hen (star of America's Got Talent) and a fresh flock of new talent to razzle dazzle you with an all new circus cabaret. Directed by Gagné in collaboration with the stunning aerialist & Guinness World Book Record holder Leila Noone, the brilliantly ridiculous talent and ballerina Bella Schlieker and local drag legend, Manny Manstands (Winner of Hollywood Boylesque 2025). Exploring and challenging forms of flight and fancy, alchemy and mayhem, mastery and mystery, this cabaret show delivers a joyful celebration of freedom and fearlessness. Get ready to shake a tail feather! This 65 minute show is recommended for ages 18 and up (7:30pm) and all ages (2:00pm)

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