page_title: Isabella Andreini
section_title: Life
hierarchical_section_title: Isabella Andreini / Life
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Troupe de comédiens italiens présumés être la troupe des Gelosi, avec Isabella Andreini.
context_page_description: Isabella Andreini, also known as Isabella Da Padova, was an Italian actress and writer. Considered beautiful, elegant, and well educated, she was one of the most famous performers of her time. Isabella Andreini was a member of the Compagnia dei Comici Gelosi, an influential touring theatre company that performed for the highest social circles of Italy and France. Famous in her time, and distinguished both for her acting and her character, the role of Isabella of the commedia dell'arte was named after her.
context_section_description: Isabella Canali was born in Padua to Venetian parents. Although her family was poor, Andreini received a complete classical education. She was very interested in literary culture and became fluent in several languages which she put to use in her La Pazzia d'Isabella (The Divine Madness of Isabella).
  In 1576, at age fourteen, Andreini was hired by the troupe of Flaminio Scala, the Compagnia dei Comici Gelosi. The Gelosi was a well-established theatre company that performed commedia dell'arte. The Gelosi were patronized by the aristocracy of northern Italy, usually performing for the gentry of Italy and France. Henry III of France was fond of the troupe, and Andreini performed for him in those very early years.
  From the beginning, Andreini particularly performed the role of the enamored woman, the prima donna innamorata, and she improvised to create a character that was less dull and more perceptive. She began to improvise and eventually shaped the art form into one of comedic bits and spontaneity.  She was one of the women who introduced, developed, and excelled at improvisation. She was daring for the time, sometimes taking off or tearing her clothes onstage. Additionally, Andreini was recognized for her acting flexibility, an important skill for all commedia dell'arte characters, regardless of sex. Andreini played the power dynamics for comedy in her characters; she recognized the importance of her status as the leading actress in a new profession.  Andreini worked with the Gelosi until her death.
  In 1578, Andreini met and married Francesco Andreini, non-traditionally taking his last name, who would become the director of the Gelosi (1589). Andreini became both the leading lady and an important voice within the Gelosi company. Together with her husband, she managed the troupe's activities and negotiated with potential patrons.
  Andreini bore seven children, three boys and four girls, while touring in the Gelosi, and was a dedicated mother. While her firstborn son, Giambattista, continued the theatrical tradition, her other male children were raised by the aristocracy of Mantua, one to become clergy in Italian monasteries, and the other son to become a guard of a duke.  She was committed in her duties to motherhood and as wife to Francesco Andreini.
  In 1589, Andreini performed her comic work La Pazzia d'Isabella (Isabella's madness) for the Florentine court during the wedding of Ferdinando I de' Medici and Christina of Lorraine, and the details of the mostly improvised play have survived to modern times. Fluent in several languages, she was renowned for her intellectual presentation and refined presence. In this play, she creates madness by using several languages and then imitating the dialects of the other characters.  She was versatile in her craft and even referred to herself as being capable of playing any male role.  She created the role of Fabrizio, a character used in many of Flaminio Scala's scenarios, where she plays a transvestite pageboy.  Andreini was noted as having played three different characters in one scenario, showcasing her improvisation skills and her talent.
  In 1599, Andreini performed before Henry IV, King of France, and his wife Maria de Medici. By this point, Andreini was well known enough to be addressed as the "star" performer of the troupe, referred to by Maria de Medici in a letter as "the actress Isabella and her company".
  Andreini performed at least once for two other troupes: the Confidenti of the Duke of Mantua in 1589, and the Uniti in 1601.
  In 1602, Andreini toured northern Italy, and in 1603 performed again for Henry IV, Marie de' Medici and a local audience at Fontainebleau and Paris. This would be her last tour, because early in 1604 she died near Lyon, on her way back to Italy, when she miscarried her eighth child at age 42.  After her state funeral, memorial coins were struck in her honour, with one side representing her as a powerful Roman ruler and the other as the fame goddess herself.
  The death of Andreini was observed by the people of Lyon, with a public funeral and an engrave
caption: A commedia dell'arte troupe in a late 16th-century Flemish painting (Musée Carnavalet, Paris). The troupe is usually identified as the Gelosi; the woman is usually identified as Andreini.
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