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Béjart is the name of several French
actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
s of the 17th century.


Family

The four actors listed here were children, and grandchildren, of Marie Hérve and Joseph Béjart (died 1643), the holder of a small government post. There were 10 children in the family which was very poor and lived in the Marais, then the theatrical quarter of
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. Four of the children became notable in the acting profession.


Madeleine Béjart

Madeleine Béjart (8 January 161817 February 1672), was a French actress and theatre director, one of the most famous French stage actors of the 17th-century. Madeleine was the second child of Joseph and Marie-Herve Bejart. She debuted with her elder brother Joseph at the Theatre du Marais and in the provinces in the late 1630s. Madeleine headed a travelling company to which her sister Geneviève (1631–1675) — who played as Mlle Hervez — and her brothers belonged, before they joined
Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...
in forming ''l'Illustre Théâtre''. In 1643 she co-founded, with
Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...
, the Illustre Théâtre, of which she was co-director. She was described as a skillful administrator with the ability to avoid conflicts among the staff. She could freely choose to perform any of the roles in the plays by Molière. She became famous from her performances in his plays. Gradually, she chose smaller parts and left the main parts to Mademoiselle Du Parc and her daughter Armande Béjart. She had a relationship with Molière. In 1662 Molière married her daughter Armande. This marriage does not seem to have ended her relationship with Molière. She remained with Molière until her death on 17 February 1672. Madeleine had an illegitimate daughter (1638) by an Italian count, and her conduct on her early travels had not been exemplary, but whatever her private relations with Molière may have been, however acrimonious and violent her temper, she and her family remained faithful to his fortunes. She was a tall, handsome blonde, and an excellent actress, particularly in
soubrette A soubrette is a female minor stock character in opera and theatre, often a pert lady's maid. By extension, the term can refer generally to any saucy or flirtatious young woman. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means " ...
parts. Among her creations were Marotte in '' Les Précieuses ridicules'', Lisette in ''L'École des maris'', Dorine in ''
Tartuffe ''Tartuffe, or The Impostor, or The Hypocrite'' (; , ), first performed in 1664, is a theatrical comedy (or more specifically, a farce) by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical theat ...
''. A contemporary, Georges de Scudery, described her:
"She was beautiful, she was gallant, she was very intelligent, she sang, she danced well, she played all kinds of instruments, she wrote very nicely in verse and prose and her conversation was very entertaining. She was over all one of the best actresses of her age and her acting had so much charm, that it really inspired all the feigned passion of the plays one saw her represent at the Theatre."
Madeleine's daughter, Armande (1645–1700) was also a famous actress and married Molière.


Joseph Béjart

Their brothers included Joseph Béjart (–1659), a strolling player and later a member of Molière's first company (l'Illustre Théatre), accompanying him in his theatrical wanderings, and was with him when he returned permanently to Paris, dying soon after. He created the parts of Lélie in ''L'Étourdie'', and Eraste in ''Le Dépit amoureux''.


Louis Béjart

Joseph's brother Louis (–1678) was also in
Molière's company Molière's company (''La Troupe de Molière'') was the theatrical company which formed around Molière from 1648 onwards, when he was performing in the French provinces after the failure of the Illustre Théâtre in 1645. In 1658 the company move ...
during the last years of touring. He created many parts in his brother-in-law's plays — Valère in ''Le Dépit amoureux'', Dubois in ''Le Misanthrope'', Alcantor in ''Le Mariage forcé'', and Don Luis in ''Le Festin de Pierre'' — and was an actor of varied talents. As a result of a wound received when interfering in a street brawl, he became lame and retired in 1670 with a pension, the first ever granted by the company to a comedian.


See also

*
Maurice Béjart Maurice Béjart (; 1 January 1927 – 22 November 2007) was a French dancer, choreographer and Theatre director, opera director who ran the Béjart Ballet Lausanne in Switzerland. He developed a popular expressionistic form of modern ballet, tac ...
, choreographer


References

;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bejart *Bejart 17th-century French male actors French male stage actors 17th-century French actresses French stage actresses