# Marie-Thérèse Bourgoin

Marie-Thérèse-Etiennette Bourgoin (1781–1833) was a French stage actress who performed at the Comédie-Française in Paris. She was known for her beauty and acting talent. Bourgoin had an affair with Russian Emperor Alexander I after being sent to entertain his delegation in Erfurt by Napoleon Bonaparte.

## Early life and career

Bourgoin was born on July 4, 1781, in Paris to a master shoemaker. She dreamed of the stage from early childhood, studying dance from age six and later acting. Her professional debut came at age 18 on September 13, 1799, at the Théâtre-Français in Paris.
Over the next three decades, Bourgoin performed over 50 roles at the Comédie-Française. She was inducted as the 213th member in 1802 and departed in 1829. Some of her most acclaimed roles were in productions of plays by Molière, Jean Racine, Pierre de Beaumarchais, and Voltaire. This included parts such as Iphigénie in Iphigénie, Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro, Célimène in The Misanthrope, and the title role in Eugénie.

### Affair with Alexander I

In 1808, Napoleon brought a troupe of actors including Bourgoin to Erfurt, Germany to entertain Alexander I and the Russian delegation to the Congress of Erfurt. Alexander was especially fond of Bourgoin's performances. At Napoleon's urging, she traveled back to the Russian Empire with Alexander.
Bourgoin made her St. Petersburg debut on July 26, 1809, starring in the comedy Nanina by Voltaire. She was a sensation with Russian audiences over the next two years. Bourgoin is believed to have become Alexander I's mistress during this period before returning to her acting career in Paris.

## Theatre
### Career at the Comédie-Française

| Year | Play | Role |
| 1799 | Fénelon by Gabriel-Marie Legouvé | Amélie |
| 1799 | Iphigénie by Jean Racine | Iphigénie |
| 1801 | Mélanie ou la Religieuse by Jean-François de La Harpe | Mélanie |
| 1801 | Mithridate by Jean Racine | Monime |
| 1802 | Isule et Orovèse by Népomucène Lemercier | Egésile |
| 1802 | The Guilty Mother by Beaumarchais | |
| 1802 | The Marriage of Figaro by Beaumarchais | |
| 1802 | Phèdre by Jean Racine | Aricie |
| 1802 | Tartuffe by Molière | Mariane |
| 1803 | Le Veuf amoureux by Jean-François Collin d'Harleville | Euphrosine |
| 1803 | The Three Sultans or Suleiman II by Charles-Simon Favart | Roxelane |
| 1803 | Melpomène et Thalie by René de Chazet | Mercure |
| 1803 | Siri-Brahé ou les Curieuses by Henry Joseph Thurind de Ryss | Julie Guldenstern |
| 1803 | Andromache by Jean Racine | Andromache |
| 1803 | Bajazet by Jean Racine | Atalide |
| 1803 | Britannicus by Jean Racine | Junie |
| 1804 | William the Conqueror by Alexandre Duval | |
| 1804 | Les Deux Figaro by Honoré-Antoine Richaud-Martelly | Inès |
| 1804 | La Leçon conjugale by Charles-Augustin Sewrin and René de Chazet | Suzanne |
| 1805 | Auguste et Théodore by Ernest de Manteufel | Théodore |
| 1805 | Les Plaideurs by Jean Racine | Isabelle |
| 1805 | Anaximander by François Andrieux | Phrosine |
| 1805 | Esther by Jean Racine | Zarès |
| 1806 | Athalie by Jean Racine | Zacharie |
| 1806 | Antiochus Epiphanes by Auguste Le Chevalier | Zobeide |
| 1806 | The Misanthrope by Molière | |
| 1807 | Pyrrhus ou les Aeacides by Louis-Grégoire Le Hoc | Iphise |
| 1808 | Plautus ou la Comédie latine by Népomucène Lemercier | Thalia |
| 1808 | The Family Assembly by François-Louis Riboutté | Rosine |
| 1810 | Eugénie by Beaumarchais | Eugénie |
| 1810 | Athalie by Jean Racine | Salomith |
| 1811 | A Tomorrow of Fortune or the Embarrassments of Happiness by Louis-Benoît Picard | Claire |
| 1811 | La Femme misanthrope ou le Spite d'amour by Alexandre Duval | Pauline |
| 1812 | Mascarille ou la Soeur supposée after Jean de Rotrou adapted by Charles Maurice | Angélique |
| 1812 | The Marriage of Figaro by Beaumarchais | |
| 1812 | La Lecture de Clarisse by François Roger | Flamette |
| 1813 | Tippo-Saëb by Étienne de Jouy | Aldéïr |
| 1813 | Ninus II by Charles Briffaut | Zorame |
| 1813 | The Supposed Niece by Eugène de Planard | Laure |
| 1813 | Tom Jones à Londres by Desforges | Sophie |
| 1814 | Fouquet by J. R. de Gain-Montagnac | Mademoiselle de Nollan |
| 1814 | The Barber of Seville by Beaumarchais | |
| 1815 | Les Deux voisines by Marc-Antoine-Madeleine Désaugiers and Michel-Joseph Gentil de Chavagnac | Julie |
| 1816 | Henri IV and Mayenne by Rancé and Thauélon de Lambert | Annette |
| 1816 | La Comédienne by François Andrieux | Henriette |
| 1816 | Alexandre et Apelle by Alexandre-Jean-Joseph de La Ville de Mirmont | Eudore |
| 1816 | Charlemagne by Népomucène Lemercier | Hugues |
| 1816 | La Pensée d'un bon roi by Jean-Baptiste Dubois | Victorine |
| 1816 | La Fête de Henri IV by Michel-Nicolas Balisson de Rougemont | Pauline |
| 1816 | L'Anniversaire ou Une journée by Philippe-Auguste de Rancé and Théaulon de Rambert | Gabrielle |
| 1816 | L'Artisan politique by Théodore-Henri Barrau | Rose |
| 1817 | Le Faux Bonhomme by Népomucène Lemercier | Ursule |
| 1818 | La Reconciliation par ruse by François-Louis Riboutté | Rose |
| 1818 | The Marriage of Figaro by Beaumarchais | |
| 1818 | Le Susceptible par honneur by Étienne Gosse | Alphonsine |
| 1818 | The Misanthrope by Molière | Célimène |
| 1819 | Hécube et Polyxène by Pierre-François-Xavier Bourguignon d'Herbigny | Polyxène |
| 1819 | The Marriage of Figaro by Beaumarchais | |
| 1819 | Le Frondeur by Jacques-Corentin Royou | Julie |
| 1820 | Le Flatterteur by Étienne Gosse | Rose |
| 1821 | Zénobie by Jacques-Corentin Royou | Thanis |
| 1821 | Le Faux bonhomme by Alexandre Duval | Sophie |
| 1821 | L'Heureux rencontre by Eugène de Planard | Émilie |
| 1821 | Faliero by Étienne Gosse | Angéline |
| 1821 | Les Plaideurs sans procès by Charles-Guillaume Étienne | Jenny |
| 1822 | Le Ménage de Molière by Justin Gensoul and J. A. N. Naudet | Henriette |
| 1822 | Clytemnestra by Alexandre Soumet | Electra |
| 1823 | La Route de Bordeaux by Marc-Antoine Désaugiers, Michel-Joseph Gentil de Chavagnac and Gersain | Émilie |
| 1825 | La Correspondance d'Alexandrine-Sophie de Bawr | Mademoiselle d'Ermance |
| 1825 | Bélisaire by Étienne de Jouy | Eudoxe |
| 1825 | Sigismond de Bourgogne by Jean-Pons-Guillaume Viennet | Sidonie |
| 1826 | L'Amitié des deux âges by Henri Monier de La Sizeranne | Amélie |
| 1826 | Rosemonde by François Paul Émile Boisnormand de Bonnechose | Rosemonde |
| 1826 | Marcel by Michel-Nicolas Balisson de Rougemont | Marie |
Sources:

## Later stage roles and death

Upon returning to the Comédie-Française, Bourgoin continued performing lead roles into the 1820s. Some of her last acclaimed parts were in The Marriage of Figaro (1819), Zénobie (1821), and Marcel (1826).
After a 34-year stage career, Bourgoin died in her native Paris on August 11, 1833, at age 52. She was buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery. Over three decades at the Comédie-Française, Bourgoin performed over 50 roles showcasing her talents as one of the leading actresses of her era.