Marie Champmeslé (; ''
née
The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
'' Desmares ; 18 February 1642 – 15 May 1698) was a
French stage actress.
Biography
She was born in
Rouen
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
of a wealthy family; her father's name was Desmares. She made her first appearance on the stage at Rouen with
Charles Chevillet Champmeslé (1645-1707), who called himself sieur de Champmeslé, and they were married in 1666. By 1669 they were playing in
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 ...
at the
Theatre du Marais, her first appearance there being as Venus in
Boyer's ''Fête de Vénus''. The next year, as Hermione in
Jean Racine
Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ; ; 22 December 1639 – 21 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille, as well as an important literary figure in the Western tr ...
's ''Andromaque'', she had a great success at the
Hotel de Bourgogne.
Her intimacy with Racine dates from then. Some of his finest tragedies were written for her, but her repertoire was not confined to them, and many an indifferent play - like
Thomas Corneille's ''Ariane'' and ''Comte d'Essex'' - owed its success to her natural manner of acting, and her pathetic rendering of the hapless heroine. ''
Phèdre'' was the climax of her triumphs.
She and her husband deserted the Hotel de Bourgogne for the
Théâtre Guénégaud.
[ When the latter company merged into the new Comédie-Française, ''Phaedre'' was selected for the opening on 26 August 1680 (see ]Troupe of the Comédie-Française in 1680 Composition of the troupe of the Comédie-Française in 1680
As of 24 August 1680, La Grange (actor), La Grange set in his register:
:« ''Jonction de la Troupe Royalle cy-devant à l'Hôtel de Bourgogne (theatre), hostel de bourgogne avec Guénà ...
). Here, with Madame Guerin as the leading comedy actress, she played the great tragic love parts for more than thirty years.
Family
* Her husband Charles distinguished himself both as actor and playwright.Nicolas Desmares
Nicolas Desmares (Rouen, 1650 – Paris, 3 November 1714) was a Theatre in France, French comedian.
A brother-in-law of Champmeslé, he also called himself "Champmeslé" and with his sister Marie Champmeslé, they joined the theatre of Rouen. His ...
(c. 1650–1714).
* Her niece, Christine Antoinette Charlotte Desmares (1682–1753), was also an actress.
Notes
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Champmesle, Marie
1642 births
1698 deaths
French stage actresses
Actresses from Rouen
17th-century French actresses
Sociétaires of the Comédie-Française