Bernhardt (Bernard), Rosine Sarah. French tragic actress. Born in Paris in 1845 of French-Dutch parents of Jewish descent. Educated in a convent at Versailles, and at the Paris conservatoire. She first appeared at the Theatre Francais in 1862 as Iphigenie. In 1867 at the Odeon, in the role of the queen in Victor Hugho's "Ruy Blas," she gained her first striking success. The war of 1870-71 interrupted her career, and she became, for a while, a nurse. She then won a positioning in the Theatre Francais, the troupe of which she accompanied in 1879 to London, where she married M. Damala, who died in 1889. She left the Francais in 1880, and made several tours of Europe and America. Directed a theater of her own in Paris. Was also a painter and sculptor. Her "Memoirs" were published by Heinemann in 1907. Made member Legion of Honor, 1914. Died 1923.

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