Marquise-Thérèse de Gorla, also known under her stage name Mademoiselle Du Parc (1633 –

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 ...

, 11 December 1668), was a French actress and

ballet dancer A ballet dancer is a person who practices the Art (skill), art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. B ...

. She was one of the stars of

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 ...

. She was also known for her love affairs and as an object of affection for many famous people.

Biography

She was the daughter of Giacomo Gorla, who was an "operator" in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

in 1635. She seems to have started as a dancer and actress in a travelling troupe, before becoming a member of

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 ...

's company in the city of

. On 23 February 1653 she married one of her colleagues in the troupe,

René Berthelot René Berthelot (? – 28 October 1664), also known by his stage names Du Parc and Gros René, was a French actor and member of Molière's theatre troupe from 1647 to 1664. Life René Berthelot was born in Nantes, the son of a bourgeois, Pie ...

, who used the stage names Du Parc and, more descriptive, Gros-René (fat René). After the marriage she took on the stage name Mlle. Du Parc. He was an actor who specialized in playing the roles of servants, such as La Montagne in Molière's ''Les fâcheux'' (The Pests). Du Parc was the subject of poems by Corneille; rumors appeared of both Pierre and brother Thomas Corneille being infatuated with her. The troupe of Molière having arrived at Paris, Du Parc performed before the monarch on 24 October 1658 in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

in the role of Hippolytus, and then before the public at the Petit Bourbon. In the 1659–1660 season, the Du Parc couple was active in the

Theatre du Marais Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

. Around Easter 1660, they returned to the

's troupe, where she was the star performing lead roles in plays as well as ballets. Larousse and Lyonnet both relate the following testimony: "She made some notable antics, because we saw her legs and part of her thighs through its split skirt on both sides, with silk stockings attached to the top of panties," something which aroused great attention by contemporaries. She suddenly left the band to join that of the Hôtel de Bourgogne and author

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 ...

. This quasi-kidnapping was the result of a quarrel between Racine and Molière. The latter, 18 years older, had provided the first aid, support, advice and sometimes its best actors. Racine wrote the role of

Andromaque ''Andromaque'' is a tragedy in five acts by the France, French playwright Jean Racine written in French alexandrine, alexandrine verse. It was first performed on 17 November 1667 before the court of Louis XIV in the Louvre Palace, Louvre in the pr ...

specifically for her.

Death

She died suddenly as one of the greatest stars in France. She was suspected to have been poisoned, but the probable cause of death seems to have been a miscarriage or an incompetent abortion. During the

Poison Affair The Affair of the Poisons (, ) was a major murder scandal in France during the reign of King Louis XIV. Between 1677 and 1682, a number of prominent members of the aristocracy were implicated and sentenced on charges of poisoning and witchcr ...

, Racine was pointed out by

La Voisin Catherine Monvoisin, or Montvoisin, née ''Deshayes'', known as "La Voisin" (c. 1640 – 22 February 1680), was a French fortune teller, commissioned poisoner, and professional provider of alleged sorcery. She was the head of a network of for ...

, who claimed that Racine had poisoned de Gorla, but this claim was never examined.

Legacy

She is the subject of the 1997 French language film ''

Marquise A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wid ...

''. She is a character in "The Shadow Queen" by Sandra Gulland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorla, Marquise-Therese De 17th-century French actresses People from the Lyonnais French ballerinas 1633 births 1668 deaths 17th-century ballet dancers