 Educated in London, her début was in an 1888 revival of W. S. Gilbert's "Pygmalion and Galatea"; and later she appeared on most of the leading stages of the English metropolis.Her extensive career included playing 'Countess Wintersen' in "The Stranger", 'Hetty Preene' in G. R. Sims's "Lights o' London", and 'Petra' in Ibsen's "Enemy of the People".Hanbury reached the peak of her popularity by playing a number or parts in Shakespearian plays, mainly under the management of Wilson Barrett and Herbert Beerbohm Tree.