Sarah Bernhardt

   Her beautiful voice, the clear way she spoke, the grace of her movements, and her fiery personality made Sarah Bernhardt one of the most famous actresses of the nineteenth century. She was very thin, and she had a pale face and frizzy red hair. But she was acclaimed everywhere as "the Divine Sarah." She was even called "the Eighth Wonder of the World."
   Her real name was Rosine Bernard. She was born in Paris, France, and was educated in a convent school in nearby Versailles. She later studied acting at the Paris Conservatory. After she became a star, she opened the Sarah Bernhardt Theater in Paris, which she managed until her death. Her best perfor­mances were in Racine's classic play Phedre, but they were never so pop­ular as her more sentimental role in The Lady of the Camellias, known in America as Camille. In 1914, when Sarah Bernhardt was 70, one of her legs had to be cut off. After that, she acted from a chair, but she still performed all over the world. In World War I, she acted for the troops near the front line of battle and was awarded the Legion of Honor.

Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923)