Sarah Bernhardt
1844 - 1923

Nicknamed "The Divine Sarah" by the legendary playwright, Oscar Wilde, Bernhardt was the undisputed queen of French romantic and classical tragedy. Bernhardt almost singlehandedly revolutionized the place of women in the classical theater with her startlingly intense and expressive performances. She was very thin, with a pale face and frizzy red hair, but her beautiful voice, the grace of her movements, and her fiery personality made Sarah Bernhardt one of the most famous actresses of her day.

She became famous for her superb portrayals in Phèdre (1874), in Victor Hugo's Ruy Blas (1872), and in Adrienne Lecouvreur (1880). She also starred in works by Sardou and Rostand, and wrote some of her own plays as well. She made tours of Europe and the U.S., including several farewell tours after her leg was amputated in 1915. She played Hamlet at her own Théâtre Sarah Bernhardt in 1899.

She was born Rosine Bernard in Paris on Oct. 23, 1844, an illegitimate child of mixed French-Dutch parentage and of partly Jewish descent. At the age of 13 she entered the drama school of the Paris Conservatoire. Her début at the Théâtre Français (later the Comédie Française) on Sept. 1, 1862, in Racine's Iphigénie en Aulide, was greeted with only mild interest. She soon quarreled with the Comédie and left it for an unsuccessful attempt at burlesque.

Bernhardt's reputation was properly established in 1869 by her appearance as Zanetto, the wandering minstrel in François Coppée's Le Passant, and affirmed in 1872 by her triumph as the Queen in Victor Hugo's Ruy Blas. Soon after this she returned to the Comédie Française, where she won further acclaim for her performances in Racine's Phèdre and Hugo's Hernani. Bernhardt's position as the greatest actress and one of the most magnetic personalities of her time was by now secure. She was eulogized for her voix d'or (golden voice) and for the scope and emotional power of her acting.

In 1880, after a triumphant season in London, she broke her contract with the Comédie Française and embarked upon an independent career with the first of six tours of America, returning to Europe for triumphs in England and Denmark. Her repertoire included La Dame aux Camélias by the younger Alexandre Dumas and Frou-frou by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. She became manager of the Théâtre de la Renaissance,which she opened with a performance of Jules Lemaître's Les Rois.

In 1891, the legendary playwright, Oscar Wilde wrote his Salome first in French, specifically with Sarah in mind for the lead role. Legend says that she was hesitant about appearing in it, at the time, although it eventually had a long-running success. It was Wilde who dubbed her "The Divine Sarah".

In 1898 she sold her lease of the Théâtre de la Renaissance and bought the Théâtre des Nations, which she renamed the Théâtre Sarah-Bernhardt. The opening play, a revival of Victorien Sardou's La Tosca, was followed by a production in French of Hamlet. Max Beerbohm, in a review, captured the essential incongruity of Bernhardt in the title role by labeling her "Hamlet, Princess of Denmark.''

Undaunted by her critics, she promptly ventured on the title role in Edmond Rostand's L'Aiglon. The hero of this play is Napoleon's son, who is kept in semi-captivity after the fall of the empire. Despite the seeming audacity of a middle-aged woman playing a boy's part, L'Aiglon was one of the greatest
financial successes ever achieved in Paris. In 1905, while performing in Rio de Janeiro, she suffered an injury to her right leg. By 1911 she was unable to walk unsupported, and in 1915 the leg was amputated. Despite the handicap of an artificial leg, she continued her acting career, even performing at the front during World War I. In 1914 she became a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. Her last stage appearance was in La Gloire (1922) by Maurice Rostand. She died in Paris on March 26, 1923.

Bernhardt was the first great actress to appear in films, starring in La Reine Elizabeth and La Dame aux Camélias (The Lady of the Camellias) in 1911. The latter was perhaps her most popular role, known in America simply as Camille.

Bernhardt's artistic gifts included sculpture and writing; she published several plays and her memoirs, Ma Double Vie (1907).

In 1914, when Sarah Bernhardt was 70, one of her legs had to be amputated following an accident. After that, she acted from a chair but still performed all over the world. In World War I, she performed for the troops near the front line of battle and was awarded the Legion of Honor.

Bernhardt died on March 27, 1923, after a long battle with Kidney disease. She remains one of the most celebrated and respected figures in the history of Western theater.