Alice Sophie Cocéa or Cocea (28 July 1899 – 2 July 1970) was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n-born

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

actress and singer.''"Countess Anna de Noailles"'' Anthology, 2011

Early life

Alice Cocéa was born in

Sinaia Sinaia () is a town and a mountain resort in Prahova County, Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Muntenia. The town was named after the Sinaia Monastery of 1695, around which it was built. The monastery, in turn, is named after ...

Prahova County Prahova County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical region Muntenia, with the capital city at Ploiești. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 762,886 and the population density was 161/k ...

on 28 July 1899. She was a daughter of

Romanian Land Forces The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Force ...

General Dimitrie Cocea. Among her siblings were sister, Florica (who married Bressy), and a brother, Nicolae D. Cocea, a

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

journalist and novelist who was the father of actresses

Dina DINA may refer to: * Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional (DINA), the Chilean secret police under the Pinochet regime * DINA S.A., a Mexican truck and bus manufacturer See also * Dina (disambiguation) * * DINO * DIN (disambiguation) DIN or Din or ...

and Tantzi Cocea.

Career

Although born in Romania, Cocéa came to France as a young teen before making her professional debut on the stage. She worked before, during, and after her marriage to Count Stanislas but announced her retirement shortly after her fiancé's death in 1932, stating that she would join a

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

. She worked as the manager of the Théâtre des Ambassadeurs, before returning to the screen in the 1960s. During World War II, Cocéa was arrested as a

Nazi collaborator In World War II, many governments, organizations and individuals Collaborationism, collaborated with the Axis powers, "out of conviction, desperation, or under coercion". Nationalists sometimes welcomed German or Italian troops they believed wou ...

, and later released. Her memoirs, ''Mes amours que j'ai tant aimées'' ("The Loves I So Loved"), were published in 1958.

Personal life

She was married in 1926 to Count ''Stanislas'' Édouard François Marie de La Rochefoucauld (1903–1965), only son and

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

of Édouard de La Rochefoucauld, Duke of Bisaccia. His father opposed the marriage, going so far as to seeking a court order preventing them from marrying, but the French Court ruled in the young couples favor. They marriage ended in divorce in 1931, and Count Stanislas later married Princess Jeanne of San Felice de Viggiano (a granddaughter of Prince Paul de Bauffremont and Countess

Valentine de Riquet de Caraman-Chimay Countess ''Valentine'' Marie Henriette de Riquet de Caraman–Chimay (15 February 1839 – 25 August 1914) was a Belgian princess. Early life She was a younger daughter of Belgian diplomat and industrialist Joseph de Riquet de Caraman, 17th Prin ...

), in 1947. In 1932 her fiancé, Lt. Victor Point, a French explorer and nephew of

Philippe Berthelot Philippe Berthelot (9 October 1866 – 22 November 1934) was an important French diplomat, son of Marcellin Berthelot and Sophie Berthelot. He was a republican (as opposed to monarchists and the far-right leagues at the time). Born in Sèvre ...

, killed himself in Agay (a village in Saint-Raphaël in the

French Riviera The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...

) when Cocéa declined to marry him; he died after shooting himself in the mouth. They had been involved for three years, and she had promised to become his wife once her divorce from Rochefoucauld had been settled. She was reportedly the mistress of Roger Capgras, who rose from being a vegetable dealer to head of a major newspaper during the

Nazi Occupation German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

and later a

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

-leaning theatrical figure. She died in

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris ...

on 2 July 1970.

Filmography

* '' My Childish Father'' (1930) * '' Let's Get Married'' (1931) *'' Delphine'' (1931) *''Atout coeur'' (1931) * ''

Nicole and Her Virtue ''Nicole and Her Virtue'' (French: ''Nicole et sa vertu'') is a 1932 French drama film directed by René Hervil and starring Alice Cocéa, André Roanne and Paulette Duvernet. It adapts a play by Félix Gandéra. Cast * Alice Cocéa as Nicole ...

'' (1932) *''Greluchon délicat'' (1934) *''Le joueur'' (1962) *''Striptease'' (1963) *''La ronde'' (1964)

External links

References

Romanian film actresses French film actresses People from Sinaia Romanian expatriates in France French people of Romanian descent 1899 births 1970 deaths 20th-century French actresses {{france-film-actor-1890s-stub