SARAH BERNHARDT

Sarah Bernhardt was one of the most legendary stage actresses ever. She was born in 1844 in Paris, France, the daughter of poor Jewish parents. She acted while she was a student in her teens, but became the mistress of a Belgian prince, and had a child by him. The prince's family forced him to break up with her, and she became a courtesan, and she began acting again in 1866, and by the 1870s was France's leading actress, and she also toured all over Europe and in New York, earning her the nickname "The Divine Sarah". She made her first movie in 1900, and only appeared in a total of seven movies (she injured a leg in 1905, and it had to be amputated, and she performed with a wooden leg!). She continued to appear on the stage, and she passed away in 1923 at the age of 78.