Sara Marie Henriette Bernhardt
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3
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2
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Sarah Bernhardt debuted on film in Hamlet, Duel Scene with Laertes 1900 and initially despised the medium, but her 1912 film Queen Elizabeth was a critical success and helped Adolph Zukor found Paramount. Despite losing a leg in 1915, she continued acting until her death from kidney failure in 1923 at age 78.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Sarah Bernhardt — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Sarah Bernhardt by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Sarah Bernhardt — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Paris, France witnessed the birth of Sarah Marie Henriette Bernhardt on September 25, 1844, the daughter of Judith Julie Bernardt and Edouard Bernhardt. Her native language was Breton, and she studied at the Conservatoire national supérieur d’art dramatique. Her family background included a younger sister Jeanne, and she gave birth to her only child Maurice in 1864.
Sarah Bernhardt made her film debut in Hamlet, Duel Scene with Laertes 1900 but detested the medium. She returned to film with La Tosca 1909 and then the Film d’Art production La dame aux camélias 1912, which was a critical and popular success. That same year she made Les amours de la reine Élisabeth 1912 in Britain, and its US distribution gave Adolph Zukor the funds to found Paramount Pictures. At age 69, she was offered fortunes to make films elsewhere but stayed with Film d’Art, appearing in Adrienne Lecouvreur 1913. After losing a leg in 1915, she continued acting in Jeanne Doré 1915 and Mothers of France 1917 as WWI morale boosters. Her final film, La voyante 1924, was left unfinished due to her death.
Sarah Bernhardt’s only child, Maurice, was born in 1864, fathered by Belgian Prince Henri de Ligne. She raised Maurice alone, and he chose to keep the Bernhardt name despite his father’s offer of recognition. She married Greek diplomat Aristide Damala in 1882; he died in 1898 due to drugs and a vicious life. After his death, she signed her letters Sarah Bernhardt, veuve Damala. She kept a rosewood coffin lined with lovers’ letters and sometimes slept in it. She was fond of wild animals and kept a lion and six chameleons at home.
Sarah Bernhardt’s 1912 film Queen Elizabeth provided the financial basis for Adolph Zukor’s Paramount Pictures, transforming the American film industry. She was the first great stage actress to appear in films, bringing artistic dignity to the medium. She received the Officier of the Legion of Honour and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was portrayed on screen by Glenda Jackson in The Incredible Sarah 1976. She is remembered for her golden voice la voix d’or and her indomitable spirit, acting even after losing a leg.
Browse the complete filmography of Sarah Bernhardt — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
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Every award, honor, and recognition received by Sarah Bernhardt — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
Sarah Bernhardt's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
A wall of memorable lines from Sarah Bernhardt — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
Life Engenders Life. Energy Creates Energy. It Is by Spending Oneself That One Becomes Rich.
We Ought to Hate Very Rarely, as It Is Too Fatiguing, Remain Indifferent a Great Deal, Forgive Often, and Never Forget.
Little-known facts about Sarah Bernhardt — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Her only child, Maurice Bernhardt, was born in 1864; his father was Belgian Prince Henri de Ligne. Shortly before Maurice’s wedding his father offered to officially recognize him and provide a fortune, but Maurice declined, preferring to remain a Bernhardt. An amusing incident at the Gare du Nord followed: when the Prince de Ligne claimed his title to skip a line, he was rebuffed, but Maurice, declaring himself the son of Sarah Bernhardt, was immediately ushered through.
Her final resting place is Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France.
A great-granddaughter named Terka married a grandson of French statesman Georges Clemenceau.
At Belle-Ile-de-la-Mer, a small island off Brittany, there is a seat she carved into the cliffs known as the Sarah Bernhardt chair.
She claimed to have had 1,000 different lovers.
In 1912, she became the first great actress of the stage to appear in films.
She owned a rosewood coffin lined with letters from her lovers and sometimes slept in it.
She kept a lion and six chameleons as pets; one biography claims she asked a surgeon to attach a tiger tail but was told it was impossible.
She collected chairs obsessively, filling all her homes; after a balloon flight she wrote a book titled Dans les nuages, impressions d’une chaise In clouds, impressions of a chair.
While performing La dame aux camélias in an American theater, she told a noisy audience: ‘If they don’t keep quiet I’ll die in the second act.
She was godmother to actor Jean Angelo.
She was troubled by thoughts of death; at age 15 she bought a coffin in which she sometimes slept, and on stage she preferred characters who died at the end.
Her younger husband, Aristide Damala, a Greek diplomat, died in 1898 due to drugs and a generally vicious life; after his death she signed her letters Sarah Bernhardt, veuve Damala widow Damala.
A popular Spanish confectionery named Tarta Sara made of sugar, butter, flour, almonds, and topped with glacé cherries is named after her.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Sarah Bernhardt.
Celebrities similar to Sarah Bernhardt — same craft, ranked by reach.
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