Gabrielle R?jane, French actress
Gabrielle Rejane (Gabrielle-Charlotte Reju, 1856-1920), French actress, seen here sitting at a desk. Born in Paris, she became a pupil of Regnier at the Conservatoire, and took the second prize for comedy in 1874. She made her debut the following year, playing a number of light soubrette parts. Her first great success was in Henri Meilhac's Ma Camarade (1883), and she soon became known as an emotional actress of rare gifts, notably in Decor, Germinie Lacerteux, Ma Cousine, Amoureuse and Lysistrata. In 1892 she married Monsieur Paul Porel, the director of the Vaudeville Theatre, but the marriage was dissolved in 1905 following which she toured Quebec. In 1894 she appeared in London. The following year, she performed in her most famous role as Catherine in Sardou's Madame Sans-Gene (1893), in New York City. Her performances in this play made her as well known in England and the United States as in Paris, and in later years she appeared in characteristic parts in both countries, being particularly successful in Zaza and La Passerelle. She opened the Theatre Rejane in Paris in 1906. Along with her great rival, Sarah Bernhardt, she served as the model for the character of the actress la Berma in Marcel Proust's novel In Remembrance of Things Past (A la Recherche du Temps Perdu). The essence of French vivacity and animated expression appeared to be concentrated in her acting, and made her unrivalled in the parts which she had made her own. She was awarded the Legion d'Honneur three months before her death. She died in Paris, and was buried in the Cimetiere de Passy
