It’s several decades since the film Mrs Doubtfire was a hit across the world. Yet at the time, I wonder how many people realised that the lady upon whom it was based came from Aberdeen? Not only that, but our quine (Aberdonian for a woman, in case you’re not from the north-east of Scotland), was as far removed from the prim, cross-dressing nanny portrayed so brilliantly by Robin Williams…
Our heroine’s name was Anabella and she was born on 18th December, 1886 at 12 Innes Street in Aberdeen. Her father was a stone polisher and in 1901 she, like many other teenage girls in the city, became a fish worker. Five years later, at the age of 20, Annabella married Arthur Cyril Doubtfire, a 24-year-old bugler in the Scottish Rifles. He was killed in action in the First World War so Anabella moved to Edinburgh, where she married a car mechanic, James Coutts.
After Coutts’ death, Anabella opened a bric-a-brac shop in the New Town. It was reportedly crammed full of all sorts of stuff and had a very strong odour of (her) pipe smoke and cats (or more specifically a by-product of cats). Olivia McAdam, A neighbour, recalled, “I remember her sitting outside her shop in the early 1970s with her numerous cats … I think she had about half a dozen. Some were less than friendly and would snarl and hiss if you got too close!”
Unlike the Robin Williams character, was a potty-mouthed, fiery individual who, unsurprisingly, became well known in Stockbridge where she lived. She was known as “Madame Doubtfire” and in the 1980s, novelist Anne Fine, who lived in Edinburgh for a while, recalled that she used to pass Annabella’s emporium while taking her children to school. For some reason, the name “Madame Doubtfire” resonated with her and become the lead character and title of her next book. The book was the inspiration for the film, which grossed more than $440 million (£340million) worldwide.
Anabella Coutts died in 1979, at the age of 92. By that time, her fame as “Madame Doubtfire” had spread massively, although I do wonder just how well the film might have done at the box-office if it reflected the real-life quine from Aberdeen…
Julie Skinner, Resourcing and Benefits Specialist, RGU