Nicole Gassot, known under her stage name Mademoiselle Bellerose (1605 – 1679), was a French stage actress. She was the daughter of the actor Jean Gassot, stage name La Fortune. She and her father were members of the same theatre company as Mondory in March 1618. She first married the actor Mathias Meslier, and secondly in 1630 the actor

Pierre Le Messier Bellerose or Belle-Rose (1592 – 1670) was the stage name of the French actor-manager Pierre le Messier. He was one of the leading tragedians of the first half of the 17th century.Forman 2010, p. 47.Roy 1995 He apprenticed with Valleran le Conte ...

, stage name Bellerose. In 1628 the Grands Comediens ( Comédiens du Roi) was established at the Hôtel de Bourgogne. Initially, only the male actors are named, but in 1630 three actresses are mentioned: Nicole Gassot (Mlle Bellerose), Madeleine de Pouget (Mlle Beauchateau) and Jeanne Buffequin (Mlle La Fleur). Scott, Virginia (2010). '' Women on the stage in early modern France : 1540-1750''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. . She was engaged at the Hôtel de Bourgogne between 1630 and 1660. She was a star attraction of the theatre and described as the perhaps most popular stage actress of the theatre at the time. The contemporary chronicle writer Tallemant described the Parisian actresses of the 1630s, and referred to Mlle Bellerose as “the best actress in Paris.” She was famous in the role of ''amoureux'' or heroine, and in tragic roles. Edward Forman:
Historical Dictionary of French Theater
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Isaac de Benserade Isaac de Benserade (; baptized 5 November 161310 October 1691) was a French poet. Born in Lyons-la-Forêt, Normandy, his family appears to have been connected with Richelieu, who bestowed on him a pension of 600 ''livres''. He began his liter ...

wrote the tragedy ''Cléopâtre'' for her in 1635.

References

1605 births 1679 deaths 17th-century French actresses French stage actresses {{France-stage-actor-stub