| Relationships | Daughter of Judith Bernard (Dutch Jewish courtesan with wealthy/ upper-class clientele) and unnamed father (attorney)
Spouse of Ambroise Aristide Damala (actor)
Former partner of many including; Charles-Joseph Eugene Henri Georges Lamoral de Ligne (father of her child), Alexandre Aguado (son of Spanish banker), Robert de Brimont (industrialist), Jacques Stern (banker), Louis-Roger de Cahuzac, Khalil Bey (Ambassador of the Ottoman Empire), Arsène Houssaye (director of the Théâtre-Lyrique), François-Certain Canrobert (French marshall), Achille Bazaine (French marshall), Prince Napoleon, Charles Haas (son of banker), Mounet-Sully (actor), Lou Tellegen (actor), Gustave Dore, Georges Clairin, Louise Abbema (artist)
Rumoured partner of the Prince of Wales (Edward VII)
Mother of Maurice Bernhardt (theatre manager and spouse of Maria Jablonowska, Polish princess) |
| Biography | Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage actress who starred in some of the more popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including La Dame Aux Camelias by Alexandre Dumas fils; Ruy Blas by Victor Hugo, Fédora and La Tosca by Victorien Sardou, and L'Aiglon by Edmond Rostand. She also played male roles, including Shakespeare's Hamlet. Rostand called her "the queen of the pose and the princess of the gesture", and Hugo praised her "golden voice". She made several theatrical tours around the world, and she was one of the early prominent actresses to make sound recordings and to act in motion pictures.
She is also linked with the success of artist Alphonse Mucha, whose work she helped to publicize. Mucha became one of the more sought-after artists of this period for his Art Nouveau style. |