Sarah Bernhardt doesn't just play roles. She turns herself into a spectacle. The French actress, born in Paris in October 1844, is among the first personalities to build world fame through theater, the press, photography and constant public provocation. French archives indicate October 22 as her date of birth, although some biographies also give October 23. She died on March 26, 1923.
Called “Divine Sarah“, she is known not only for her roles in “Lady of the Camellias“, “Lady of the Camellias“, “Fedora“, “Tosca“ and “The Eagle“. A legend was created around her as a woman with an unbridled temperament, numerous love affairs and a taste for extremes.
The blow that interrupted her career at the Comédie Française
The first major scandal came at the beginning of her career. In 1863, Bernard left the Comédie Française after a conflict with an older actress. According to the popular version, she hit her after her sister had been roughly pushed. Whether the incident was exactly like that, or was later embellished by Bernard herself, remains part of theatrical mythology. The consequence, however, is certain: her contract was terminated.
After this failure, she moved to Brussels, where she began a relationship with the Belgian aristocrat Henri, Prince de Linne. In 1864, she gave birth to her son Maurice. Paternity was long the subject of rumors, and Bernard did not turn the topic into a public explanation. It is this mixture of silence, love stories and aristocratic names that increases interest in her.
The coffin as part of the image
Her most memorable provocation is related to death. Bernard was photographed lying in a coffin, and later the claim spread that she was sleeping in it. The photograph is not just an eccentric portrait. She creates an image of an actress who lives on the border between the stage, scandal and morbid fantasy.
Bernard often plays heroines who die dramatically, but she also accepts male roles. In 1899 she performed Hamlet, and before that she transformed into the Duke of Reichstadt in “The Eagle“. According to “The Guardian“ Oscar Wilde called her “The Incomparable“, and Mark Twain summed up his admiration with the words: “There are five kinds of actresses: bad, good, great, really great – and Sarah Bernhardt.“
Love, politics and public battles
The actress's personal life is no less noisy than her career. Among the men around her are actors, writers, artists and aristocrats. In 1882, she married the Greek actor Jacques Damala, but the marriage quickly fell apart. Their relationship was marked by financial problems, addictions and frequent conflicts.
Bernard did not stay away from political scandals. During the Dreyfus affair in 1898, she supported Alfred Dreyfus. Her position was particularly courageous in a society in which anti-Semitism was used against the defenders of the accused officer. Earlier, during the Franco-Prussian War, she had converted the Odeon theater into a hospital for wounded soldiers.
Amputation does not end the stage
In 1915, when she was about 70 years old, Sarah Bernhardt lost her right leg. Injuries from falls during performances led to severe complications and gangrene. The amputation was a dramatic blow to an actress whose physical expressiveness was part of her fame, but she refused to retire.
Bernard continued to act sitcoms, travel, and perform patriotic performances for soldiers during World War I. The Guardian notes that she visited front-line areas such as Verdun and the Argonne despite her amputation, and later continued to tour the United States.
This is what makes Sarah Bernhardt more than a famous actress. Scandals, love affairs, a coffin, political positions, and an amputated leg are not outside her stage persona. They become part of it. And that is why, more than a century after her death, Bernard continues to appear not as a biographical figure from the past, but as the first modern celebrity.
Sources: theguardian.com, smithsonianmag.com