Sarah Bernhardt

Born: 25 October 1844 Birthplace: Paris, France Death: 26 March 1923 Best Known As: Legendary French star of stage and screen Name at birth: Henriette-Rosine Bernhard French stage star Sarah Bernhardt was probably the most famous actress of the 19th century. She studied drama in Paris and began performing on the stage in the early 1860s. In less than a decade she became a star known for her melodramatic performances in classical plays such as Ruy Blas (1872) and Phedre (1874). Bernhardt began touring internationally in 1880 and was already a legend by the time she got involved in the movies. Although her career was centered on the stage, her roles in the early days of cinema helped bring credibility to the new medium. Her most famous films are 1911's La Dame aux Camelias (better known to U.S. audiences as Camille) and 1912's Queen Elizabeth, both critical and popular successes. In 1905 she injured her right leg and in 1915 the leg was amputated, but Bernhardt continued to tour and perform. She died in 1923 shortly after beginning the filming of La Voyante. Bernhardt is one of the few women to play the lead role in William Shakespeare's Hamlet... She published her autobiography, My Double Life, in 1907 and The Art of Theatre in 1923.