Katherine Kath (born Rose Marie Lily Faess; 11 August 1920 – 17 November 2012) was a French prima ballerina at the Theatre du Chatelet in

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 ...

, who became an actress after suffering from an injury which destroyed her chances of continuing her career. Kath was born in

Berck Berck (), sometimes referred to as Berck-sur-Mer (, literally ''Berck on Sea''), is a commune in the northern French department of Pas-de-Calais. It lies within the Marquenterre regional park, an ornithological nature reserve. Geography Situa ...

, Pas-de-Calais, France, where she also died, at age 92 in 2012, from undisclosed causes. Until shortly before then, she was living in London, near Fulham Road. She appeared in many international films and television programmes during her acting career. She met British filmmaker

Jack Clayton Jack Isaac Clayton (1 March 1921 – 26 February 1995) was a British film director and producer who specialised in bringing literary works to the screen. Overview Starting out as a teenage studio "tea boy" in 1935, Clayton worked his way up ...

in 1952, during the making of ''

Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche. In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Paris Ol ...

'', in which she portrayed the can-can dancer

La Goulue La Goulue (, meaning ''The Gourmand''), was the stage name of Louise Weber (12 July 1866 – 29 January 1929), a French can-can dancer who was a star of the Moulin Rouge, a popular cabaret in the Pigalle district of Paris, near Montmartre. Weber ...

and on which Clayton was the assistant director. Jack was gifted a watercolour of Katherine by

Marcel Vertès Marcel Vertès (born Marcell Vértes, 10 August 1895 – 31 October 1961) was a French costume designer and illustrator of Hungarian-Jewish origins. He won two Academy Awards ( Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design) for his work on the ...

, who won two academy awards for his work on the film. It was signed "A Jack Clayton tres amicalement". The couple married in 1953, following Clayton's

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

from his first wife,

Christine Norden Christine Norden (born Mary Lydia Thornton; 28 December 1924 – 21 September 1988) was a British actress. Early life Norden was born in Mowbray Terrace, Sunderland. She was the daughter of a bus driver. Her childhood home was in Chester Ro ...

, but the union was shortlived.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* 1920 births 2012 deaths French film actresses Prima ballerinas People from Pas-de-Calais French ballerinas French television actresses 20th-century French actresses {{France-screen-actor-stub