Gabrielle Colonna-Romano (January 17 1888 – February 2 1981) or ''Colanna Romano'' (name as a cinema actress), born Gabrielle Dreyfus, was a French actress, famous as a tragedian, sociétaire of the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

from 1913 to 1936, and as a student of

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 or 23 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including '' La Dame Aux Camel ...

. She appeared in several plays and poetry readings (notably of works by the

Symbolist Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realis ...

poet

Saint-Pol-Roux Paul-Pierre Roux, called Saint-Pol-Roux (15 January 1861, quartier de Saint-Henry, Marseille - 18 October 1940, Brest) was a French Symbolist poet. Life Marseille Saint-Pol-Roux was born to a middle-class family in Marseille, where his fath ...

). She had an affair with

Pierre Renoir Pierre Renoir (March 21, 1885 – March 11, 1952) was a French stage and film actor. He was the son of the impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir and elder brother of the film director Jean Renoir. He is also noted for being the first ...

, and modelled for several paintings by his father

Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that " ...

, notably ''Jeune femme à la rose'' (1913). In England, she met and became friends with

Marie Bell Marie Bell (23 December 1900 – 14 August 1985), born Marie-Jeanne Bellon-Downey, was a French tragedian, comic actor and stage director. She was the director of the Théâtre du Gymnase in Paris from 1962 onwards, and this theatre now bear ...

, on whose advice she decided to present herself to the

Conservatoire A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

. She was the sixth and final wife of the millionaire press-magnate Alfred Edwards, and after his death married the actor

Pierre Alcover Pierre Alcover (14 March 1893 – 14 November 1957) was a French stage and film actor. He starred in 40 films between 1918 and 1943. In 1920 he starred in the film ''Champi-Tortu''. One of his most notable performances was in Marcel L'Herbier' ...

. She and Alcover are buried together in the

Rueil-Malmaison Rueil-Malmaison () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2017, it had a population of 78,152. It is one of the wealthiest suburbs of Par ...

cemetery. She gives her name to the "Prix Colonna-Romano de tragédie classique" at the

Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Filmography

* 1908 : ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'', directed by

Henri Desfontaines Henri Desfontaines (12 November 1876, Paris – 7 January 1931, Paris) was a French film director, actor, and scriptwriter. Filmography As director * 1908 : ''Hamlet'' * 1909 : '' Le Puits et le pendule'' * 1910 : '' Un invité gênant'' * 1 ...

(Gertrude) * 1910 : '' Le Scarabée d'or'', directed by Henri Desfontaines * 1910 : ''

Hop-Frog "Hop-Frog" (originally "Hop-Frog; Or, the Eight Chained Ourang-Outangs") is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1849. The title character, a person with dwarfism taken from his homeland, becomes the jester of a kin ...

'', directed by Henri Desfontaines * 1911 : '' Le Roman de la momie (film)'', directed by Henri Desfontaines * 1912 : ''Antar'', directed by Chékri Ganem * 1913 : ''L'Honneur'', directed by

Henri Pouctal Henri Pouctal (21 October 1860 – 2 February 1922) was an early French silent film director and actor best known for his silent films of the 1910s, notably ''Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ...

Sources

*''This page is a translation of its French counterpart.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Colonna-Romano, Gabrielle 1888 births 1981 deaths French stage actresses French film actresses French silent film actresses Sociétaires of the Comédie-Française 20th-century French actresses