Frances Emily Irving was born in England on 5 September 1869, the daughter of stage actor Joseph Irving (died 1870)[2] and the wife of actor Gilbert Porteous (died 1928).[3]
She was initially billed as Birdie Irving, appearing in London productions such as the 1885 pantomime A Frog He Would a Wooing Go and the burlesque The Vicar of Wideawakefield.[2][4]