Henriette Rosine Bernard, known professionally as Sarah Bernhardt, was the first modern celebrity and she crafted a spectacular career that took her around the globe. By her early 20s, Bernhardt - the daughter of a Dutch Jewish courtesan - had already realized her passion for performing. She entered acting school and began playing small roles in a variety of productions. Rising to prominence for her performance in François Coppée’s Le Passant in 1869, she began appearing regularly at the Comédie-Française, a 17th-century theater in Paris and went on to portray such famous figures as Joan of Arc, Phaedra and Cleopatra. Bernhardt’s strong-willed personality showed up both in her stage career and in her personal life. She bucked societal expectations, possessing “a solid sense of self and an open determination to have her own way,” wrote Sharon Marcus for Vox in 2019. Theresa Rebeck, who wrote a play centered on Bernhardt’s performance of the title role in Hamlet, tells the New York Times that the actress “was someone who demanded the right to be extraordinary” - and playing Hamlet in 1899 wasn’t the only time she portrayed a male character. Now there’s an entire museum exhibit devoted to the actor’s life at the Petit Palais in Paris.
© 2024 John Oliver
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