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Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923)

Leading French actress, she entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1859 and in 1867 won fame as Zanetto in Coppee's Le Passant and as the queen of Spain in Ruy Blas - 1872. After 1876 she made frequent appearances in London, America and Europe and founded The

This celebrated star of the French stage had a sporadic love-hate affair with early cinema. After her film debut in Duel d'Hamlet, Le (1900) she declared she detested the medium; yet she consented to appear in another film, Tosca, La (1909). Upon seeing the results, she reportedly recoiled in horror, demanding that the negative be destroyed. Her next film appearance, in the Film d'Art production of Dame aux camélias, La (1912), was a critical and popular success, helping give cinema artistic dignity. The following year she made Amours de la reine Élisabeth, Les (1912) in Britain. The receipts from this film's distribution in the US provided Adolph Zukor with the funds to found Paramount. Bernhardt, at 69, was offered a fortune to make films with other companies, but stayed with Film d'Art, appearing in Adrienne Lecouvreur (1913). She appeared in two more pictures after losing a leg in 1915, Jeanne Dore (1915) and Mères françaises (1917), both produced as WWI morale boosters. In 1923, when she was 79, her hotel room was turned into a studio so that she could appear in the film Voyante, La (1923). But her failing health halted production and she died before the film was completed. She was portrayed on the screen by Glenda Jackson in The Incredible Sarah (1976).