Alexander Cooke (died February 1614) was a boy player and actor in the Lord Chamberlain's Men and the King's Men. February is the second month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events April 5 - In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe. ... Edward Kynaston, one of the last boy players (1889 engraving of a contemporary portrait) Boy player is a common term for the adolescent males employed by English Renaissance acting companies. ... The Lord Chamberlains Men was the playing company that William Shakespeare worked for as actor and playwright throughout most of his career. ... It has been suggested that Lord Chamberlains Men be merged into this article or section. ...

Edmond Malone originated the hypothesis, still current though far from certain, that Cooke originated all of Shakespeare's principal female roles. That he played female roles is widely accepted, though specifics are scarce. He appears near the end of the list of "principal actors" included in the First Folio. He appears also in the cast lists for Ben Jonson's Sejanus (1603), in which he may have played Agrippina, and Volpone (1605), in which he may have been Lady Would-be. He is also named in the cast-lists for Jonson's The Alchemist (1610) and Catiline (1611) and for Beaumont and Fletcher's The Captain (ca. 1612). Edmond Malone (October 4, 1741 - April 25, 1812), was an Irish Shakespearean scholar and editor of the works of William Shakespeare. ... William Shakespeare—born April 1564; baptised April 26, 1564; died April 23, 1616 (O.S.), May 3, 1616 (N.S.)—has a reputation as the greatest of all writers in English. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Benjamin Jonson (circa June 11, 1572 – August 6, 1637) was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. ... A play by Ben Johnson. ... Volpone, or The Fox, is a black comedy by Ben Jonson first produced in 1606, and considered one of the finest comedies of the Jacobean period. ... for other works by this name, see the disambiguation page for this title The Alchemist is a play in five acts by Ben Jonson. ... Sketch of Francis Beaumont Francis Beaumont (1584 – 1616), was an English dramatist most famous for his collaborations with John Fletcher. ... John Fletcher (1579-1625) was a Jacobean playwright. ...

Cooke appears to have been apprenticed to John Heminges, a King's Man who was also a member of the Grocers' Company, but he does not seem to have claimed freedom of this company; Heminges, along with Henry Condell, was named as trustee of Cooke's four children in his will. He resided in Hill's Rents, Southwark. John Heminges was an actor in the Kings Men, the playing company for which William Shakespeare wrote. ... The Worshipful Company of Grocers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. ... Henry Condell was an actor in the Kings Men, the playing company for which William Shakespeare wrote. ... The Borough or Southwark is an area of the London Borough of Southwark situated 1. ...

He became a shareholder in the King's Men in 1604, when the number of shareholders was expanded to twelve. He apparently ceased acting around 1612, and died in 1614.

Reference

F. E. Halliday, A Shakespeare Companion 1564-1964, Baltimore, Penguin, 1964.