Sarah Bernhardt

**Sarah Bernhardt** (; born **Henriette-Rosine Bernard**; 22 or 23 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress, and has often been called "the most famous actress in the history of the world". Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of Europe in the 1870s, and was soon working in Europe and the United States. She developed a reputation as a serious actress, getting the nickname "The Divine Sarah."

## Early life

She was born in Paris as **Marie Henriette Bernardt**, the daughter of Julie Bernardt and a Dutch father. She added the letter "H" to her first and last name, and used the name of Edouard Bernardt, her mother's brother, as the name of her father. This was probably done to hide the fact that her father was unknown.

## Career

Bernhardt's career started in 1862, when she was a student at the Comédie-Française. She was not very successful there, and left to become a courtesan by 1865. She became famous in Europe in the 1870s, and was soon in demand all over Europe and in New York. She may have been the most famous actress of the 19th century. She coached many young women in the art of acting, including Liane de Pougy.

### Late career

In 1905, while performing in Rio de Janeiro, Bernhardt hurt her right knee during the final scene when she jumped from a high wall. The leg never healed properly, showing signs of bruising. By 1915, gangrene had set in and her entire right leg was amputated, meaning she was in a wheelchair for several months. Nonetheless, she continued her career. She carried out a successful tour of America in 1915, and died on returning to France. On 26 March 1923, Bernhardt died of uremia following kidney failure. She is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

Sarah Bernhardt has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1751 Vine Street.

## Books

- _Dans les Nuages, Impressions d'une Chaise Charpentier_ (1878)
- _L'Aveu, drame en un acte en prose_ (1888)
- _Adrienne Lecouvreur, drame en six actes_ (1907)
- _Ma Double Vie_ (1907), &  as _My Double Life:Memoirs of Sarah Bernhardt_, (1907) William Heinemann
- _Un Coeur d'Homme, pièce en quatre actes_ (1911)
- _Petite Idole_ (1920; as _The Idol of Paris_, 1921)
- _L'Art du Théâtre: la voix, le geste, la prononciation, etc._ (1923; as _The art of the Theatre_, 1924)
- _Sarah Bernhardt My Grandmother_ (1940)

## Roles

- 1862: Racine's _Iphigénie_ in the title rôle, her debut.
- 1862: Eugène Scribe's _Valérie_
- 1862: Molière's _Les Femmes Savantes_
- 1864: Labiche & Deslandes, _Un Mari qui Lance sa Femme_
- 1866: T & H Cognard's _La Biche aux Bois_
- 1866: Racine's _Phèdre_ (as Aricie)
- 1866: Pierre de Marivaux's _Le Jeu de l'Amour et du Hasard_ (as Silvia)
- 1867: Molière's _Les Femmes Savantes_ (as Armande)
- 1867: George Sand's _Le Marquis de Villemer_
- 1867: Georges Sand's "François le Champi" (as Mariette)
- 1868: Dumas père _Kean_ (as Anna Damby)
- 1869: Coppée's _La Passant,_ as a male troubador (Zanetto); her first major stage success
- 1870: George Sand's _L'Autre_
- 1871: Theuriet's _Jeanne-Marie_
- 1871: Coppée's _Fais ce que Dois_
- 1871: Foussier and Edmond _La Baronne_
- 1872: Bouilhet's _Mademoiselle Aïssé_
- 1872: Hugo's _Ruy Blas_ (as Doña Maira de Neubourg, Queen of Spain)
- 1872: Dumas père _Mademoiselle de Belle-Isle_ (as Gabrielle)
- 1872: Racine's _Britannicus_ (as Junie)
- 1872: Beaumarchais's _Le Mariage de Figaro_
- 1872: Sandeau's _Mademoiselle de la Seiglière_
- 1873: Feuillet's _Dalila_ (as Princess Falconieri)
- 1873: Ferrier's _Chez l'Avocat_
- 1873: Racine's _Andromaque_
- 1873: Racine's _Phèdre_ (as Aricie)
- 1873: Feuillet's _Le Sphinx_
- 1874: Voltaire's _Zaire_
- 1874: Racine's _Phèdre_ (as Phèdre)
- 1875: Bornier's _La Fille de Roland_
    - Dumas fils' _L'Étrangère_ (as Mrs. Clarkson)
    - Parodi's _Rome Vaincue_
- 1877: Hugo's _Hernani_ (as Doña Sol)
- 1879: Racine's _Phèdre_ (as Phèdre)
- 1880: Émile Augier's _L'Aventurière_
- 1880: Legouvé & Scribe's _Adrienne Lecouvreur_
- 1880: Meilhac & Halévy's _Froufrou_
- 1880: Dumas fils' _La Dame aux Camélias_ (as Maguerite)
- 1882: Sardou's _Fédora_
    - Sardou's _Théodora_ (as Theodora, Empress of Byzantium)
- 1887 : _La Tosca_ de Victorien Sardou
    - Dumas fils' _La Princesse Georges_
- 1890: Sardou's _Cléopâtre_, as Cleopatra
- 1893: Lemaître's _Les Rois_
- 1894: Sardou's _Gismonda_
- 1895: Molière's _Amphytrion_
- 1895: _Magda_(translation of Sudermann's _Heimat_)
- 1896: _La Dame aux Camélias_
- 1896: Musset's _Lorenzaccio_ (as Lorenzino de' Medici)
- 1897: Sardou's _Spiritisme_
- 1897: Rostand's _La Samaritaine_
- 1898: Catulle Mendès _Medée_
- 1898: _La Dame aux Camélias_ (as Marguerite Gautier)
    - Barbier's _Jeanne d'Arc_ (as Joan of Arc)
    - Morand & Sylvestre's _Izéïl_ (as Izéïl)
    - Shakespeare's _King Lear_ (as Cordelia)
- 1899: Shakespeare's _Hamlet_ (as Hamlet)
    - Shakespeare's _Antony and Cleopatra_ (as Cleopatra)
    - Shakespeare's _Macbeth_ (as Lady Macbeth) (in French)
    - Richepin's _Pierrot Assassin_ (as Pierrot)
- 1900: Rostand's _L'Aiglon_ as L'Aiglon
- 1903: Sardou's _La Sorcière_
- 1904: Maeterlinck's _Pelléas et Mélisande_ (as Pelléas)
- 1906: Ibsen's _The Lady From the Sea_
- 1906: Mendès' _La Vierge d'Avila_ (as Saint Theresa)
- 1911: Moreau's _Queen Elizabeth_ (as Queen Elizabeth)
- 1913: Bernard's _Jeanne Doré_ (as Jeanne Doré)

## Other websites

- The Sarah Bernhardt Pages

## Infobox (person)

- **name**: Sarah Bernhardt
- **image**: Sarah Bernhardt - Project Gutenberg eText 19955.jpg
- **imagesize**: 200px
- **caption**: **Sarah Bernhardt** in June 1877, during a visit to Boston, Massachusetts
- **birthname**: Sara-Marie-Henriette Rosine Bernardt
- **birth place**: Paris, France
- **death place**: Paris, France
- **yearsactive**: 1862–1923
- **spouse**: Ambroise Aristide Damala (1882–1889)