Joshua Reynolds Kitty Fisher as Cleopatra Dissolving the Pearl, 1759
© English Heritage Photo Library
(Date of birth unknown, died 1759)
'It was impossible to be dull in her company, as she would ridicule her own foibles rather than want a subject for raillery.'
The Town and Country Magazine
Catherine Fisher was one of the most celebrated high-class prostitutes in London. Born to working-class parents, she was by the late 1750s supported by a number of aristocrats and gentlemen. Soon 'Fishermania' swept the capital: young women imitated her clothing, journalists wrote obscene verses to her in the press, and her image was plastered all over the print shops. She later married an MP named John Norris and became known for her acts of charity.