- Gabrielle Réjane
Infobox Actor
name = Gabrielle Réjane
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caption = Image of Gabrielle Réjane by Nadar
birthname = Gabrielle Charlotte Réju
birthdate = birth date|1856|6|5
birthplace =Paris ,France
deathdate = death date and age|1920|6|14|1856|6|5
deathplace =Paris ,France
yearsactive = 1900 - 1920
occupation = actressGabrielle Réjane was the
stage name of Gabrielle-Charlotte Reju, (June 5 ,1856 –June 14 ,1920 ), a French actress.Born in
Paris , the daughter of an actor, she became a pupil of Régnier at the Conservatoire, and took the second prize for comedy in 1874. Her debut was made the next year, during which she played attractively a number of light especiallysoubrette parts. Her first great success was inHenri Meilhac 's "Ma camarade" (1883), and she soon became known as an emotional actress of rare gifts, notably in "Décor", "Germinie Lacerteux", "Ma cousine", "Amoureuse" and "Lysistrata".In 1892 she married M. Paul Porel, the director of the
Vaudeville Theatre , but the marriage was dissolved in 1905 following which she touredQuebec . In 1894 she appeared inLondon . The following year, she performed in her most famous role as Catherine in Sardou's "Madame Sans-Gêne", inNew York City . Her performances in "Madame Sans-Gêne" (1893) made her as well known in England and the United States as in Paris, and in later years she appeared in characteristic parts in both countries, being particularly successful in "Zaza" and "La Passerelle". She opened the Théâtre Réjane in Paris in 1906.Along with her great rival,
Sarah Bernhardt , she served as the model for the character of the actress 'la Berma' inMarcel Proust 's novel "In Remembrance of Things Past (A la Recherche du Temps Perdu).The essence of French vivacity and animated expression appeared to be concentrated in Madame Réjane's acting, and made her unrivalled in the parts which she had made her own.
She was awarded a knight of the Legion of Honor three months before her death. Réjane died in Paris on June 14, 1920, and was buried there in the
Cimetière de Passy .References
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External links
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* [http://www.comicbookbrain.com/a-madam-napoleon.php Madame Sans-Géne] About the play and Gabrielle Rejane, with an 1894 review from PUNCH magazine
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
