Feb 03 2009
Sarah Bernhard - the actress who slept in a coffin
Modern day movie stars will be hard pressed to match the excenticities of French actress Sarah Bernhard. Born in 1844, although the exact day of her birth is unclear, she was the daughter of a Dutch Jewish courtesan, known by the name of “Youle”. She received a strict catholic education in a convent. Due to lack of money, her mother had to remove her from there. To support herself, Sarah soon forgot about becoming a nun herself and turned to acting. At the same time, she followed her mother’s footsteps as a courtesan. Both professions were considered scandalous, but Sarah was sponsered into acting class.
Her stage career took off in 1862, appearing mostly in comedy and burlesque. But Sarah had a great talent for serious, dramatic acting and her fame rose. She appeared on stage all over Europe and the USA, gathering admirers and a fortune along the way. She had numerous love affairs, among them with the Prince of Ligne with whom she had her only child, a son called Maurice. Mother and son remained close all their lives.
Fame brought on excentricities. Sarah used to travel in specially outfitted railroad cars, surrounded by an entourage which often included cats, monkeys, leopards and alligators. And, of course, the coffin. She sometimes used to sleep in it and it was lined with the letters of her many lovers.
Sarah also made a debut as a silent movie star, performing as Hamlet. She made a few more movies and, being multi talented, painted, sculpted and wrote several books.
In 1915, several years after a serious accident, her right leg was amputated. Being Sarah Bernhard, she was undeterred, had herself fitted out with a wooden limb and continued appearing on stage and in movies until her death, in the arms of her son, in 1923.
