Of all the most notable characters of the late nineteenth century, two women stand out: Queen Victoria, and Sarah Bernhardt. The Queen was born into her role, and her stage was the Empire. Sarah created her role, and the world was her stage.
She was born Henriette-Rosine Bernard. She made her acting debut at the Comedie-Francaise in 1862 in the title role of Jean Racine's classic tragedy Iphigenie. Other notable roles during her long career included the title characters in Racine's Phaedra, Victorien Sardou's Tosca, and Dona Sol in Victor Hugo's Hernani; and Marguerite Gautier in Alexandre Dumas fils' La Dame aux Camilias. At 32, she took her fame and face to London where she became the leading actress of the day. At 46, Sarah asked Oscar Wilde to write her a play - Salome - but the Lord Chamberlain had the play banned before it left rehearsal.
Other famous roles included Cleopatra, Queen Elizabeth I, and Hamlet! Between 1880 and 1918 "the Divine Miss Sarah" made many tours of the United States, playing in everything from tents to barns. According to Albert Auster, the adulation accorded her was so great that quite ordinary people went out of their way to catch even a fleeting glimpse of her. Artists, playwrights, poets, statesmen and the cream of society payed homage to her.
Bernhardt was an accomplished painter and sculptor and also wrote poems and plays. She wrote two books, an autobiography, Memories of My Life (1907); and observations on acting and the theater, The Art of the Theater (published in 1924, after her death)
"The existence of Sarah Bernhardt remains the supreme marvel of the nineteenth century. - Edmond Rostand
In 1899, at the age of 53, Sarah founded the Theatre Sarah Bernhardt in Paris. She was her own manager, producer and promoter, and ran the Theatre successfully for many years. In 1914, when Sarah was 70, one of her legs had to be amputated, following an accident. She performed from a chair after that, but still toured all over the world.
"She understands the art of motion and attitude as no one else does,
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