Jeanne Germaine Berthe Agnès Souret (21 January 1902 – 30 September 1928) was a French

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

actress, dancer and beauty pageant titleholder who was the winner of the inaugural

Miss France Miss France is a national beauty pageant in France held annually in December. The competition was first held in 1920, and has been organized continuously since 1947. The trademark for the pageant is owned by the company Miss France SAS, and is ...

competition in 1920.

Biography

Jeanne Germaine Berthe Agnès Souret was a French-Basque born in

Bayonne Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...

on 21 January 1902, the daughter of former ballet dancer Marguerite Souret. Her grandfather was Henri Souret, a customs official in the town of

Bidarray Bidarray (; )BIDARRAI

. Her formative years were spent at

Espelette Espelette (; ; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. It lies in the traditional Basque province of Labourd. Sights The town is attractive, with traditional Labourd houses and a castle. The protected ...

Labourd Labourd (; ; ; ) is a former French province and part of the present-day Pyrénées Atlantiques '' département'' of Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It is one of the traditional Basque provinces, and identified as one of the territorial component pa ...

Northern Basque Country The French Basque Country (; ; ), or Northern Basque Country (, or , ), is a region lying on the west of the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Since 1 January 2017, it constitutes the Basque Municipal Community (; ) presided o ...

La plus belle femme de France

In 1919, the dark brown haired, brown eyed Souret was the winner of a beauty competition to become Miss Midi-Pyrénées. In 1920, she was acclaimed as the most beautiful woman in France (''La plus belle femme de France'') in a contest now regarded as the inaugural

competition. The 17-year-old Souret won over 2,000 entrants and attracted 115,000 votes. In ''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

'', she was described as a ‘’dazzling beauty’’ In ''The New York Times'', she was called "the fairest in France".

Career

Souret's success in the competition and the subsequent publicity resulted in her becoming for a few years one of the most celebrated women in France. Her photograph was extensively circulated in journals and magazines.The very first edition of the French film magazine ''Cinemagazine'' published in January 1921 features Souret on the front cover Details of her life were commonplace in the gossip columns of the early 20s. She appeared in a dancing role at the famous Parisian music hall the

Folies Bergère 150px, Stanisław Julian Ignacy Ostroróg">Walery, 1927 The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the arc ...

and the

Opéra de Monte-Carlo The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house which is part of the Monte Carlo Casino located in the Monaco, Principality of Monaco. With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Charles III, Prince of Monaco, Prince Charl ...

. She was in two films directed by

Henry Houry Henry Houry (1874–1972) was a French stage actor. He also appeared in and directed films.Waldman & Slide p.229 He worked for a while in the United States during the silent era, directing the 1918 Corinne Griffith film '' Love Watches''. Selec ...

: ''La Maison des pendus'' and ''Le Lys du Mont Saint-Michel''. Her fame extended beyond France to the United Kingdom where, in 1922, she appeared in the revue ''Pins and Needles'' at the Gaiety Theatre in the

West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, Central London, England, in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster. It is west of the City of London an ...

. While in London, she was invited, along with two English actresses Margaret Leahy and Katherine Campbell, by film director

Edward José Edward José (5 July 1865 – 18 December 1930) was a Belgian film director and actor of the silent film, silent era. He directed 42 films between 1915 and 1925. He also performed in 12 films between 1910 and 1916.Joseph M. Schenck for an audition to appear in films in Hollywood travelling to the United States at the end of 1922. Although her screen tests do not appear to have led a role, her beauty was noticed. Her book, ''The Famous Book of Beauty Secrets'', was published by the Chicago Mail Order Company in 1922.A full page image of Souret's face adorns the front page of the

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

on 30 September 1923. Her last film appearance was a minor role in ''La Tournée Farigoule'', directed by .

Death

Agnès Souret died of

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and covering of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One pa ...

on 30 September 1928, aged 26, whilst touring

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. To ensure that her body could be repatriated to France, Souret's mother Marguerite raised the money by selling many of her goods including her house at Espelette. Agnès Souret was laid to rest at her home Basque Country village in a tomb that features a sculpture by Lucien Danglade.In 2002, André Darraïdou, the mayor of Espelette invited the head of

Monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...

to visit Souret’s tomb with a view to establishing it for official preservation. A ceremony and an exhibition of Souret's life were organised leading to the tomb becoming a tourist attraction. The tomb was classified under

as a National Heritage Site of France in 2006. The heritage protection was made applicable in September 2006. It is indexed with an identification number in the

Base Mérimée The ''Base Mérimée'' () is the database of French monumental and architectural heritage, created and maintained by the French Ministry of Culture. It was created in 1978, and placed online in 1995. The database is periodically updated, and conta ...

, a database of architectural heritage maintained by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...

, under the reference PM64001441.

Filmography

* 1920: ''Le Lys du Mont Saint-Michel'' * 1921: ''La Maison des pendus'' * 1926 : ''La tournée Farigoule''

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Souret, Agnes 1902 births 1928 deaths French-Basque people People from Bayonne Actresses from Nouvelle-Aquitaine French female models French female dancers French film actresses French silent film actresses 20th-century French actresses Deaths from peritonitis