Madeleine Béjart was a French actress and theatre director, one of the most famous French stage actors of the 17th-century. She belonged to the Béjart

Béjart

-Background:They were children of Marie Hérve and Joseph Béjart , the holder of a smallgovernment post. There were 11 children in the family which was very poor and lived in the Marais, then the theatrical quarter of Paris...

 family, a famous theatre family in 17th-century France. Madeleine was the second child of Joseph and Marie-Herve Bejart. She debuted with her elder brother Joseph at the Theatre du Marais

Théâtre du Marais

The Théâtre du Marais has been the name of several theatres and theatrical troupes in Paris, France. The original and most famous theatre of the name operated in the 17th century. The name was briefly revived for a revolutionary theatre in 1791, and revived again in 1976...

 and in the provinces in the late 1630s.

In 1643 she co-founded, with Molière

Molière

Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...

, the Illustre Théâtre

Illustre Théâtre

The Illustre Théâtre was a French theatre company set up by Molière on 30 June 1643, and shut down less than two years later on his imprisonment in August 1645. However, it is notable for its impact on the history of the French theatre...

, for which she was co-director. She was described as a skillful administrator with the ability to avoid conflicts among the staff. She had the free choice of roles in the plays by Molière, by which she became famous. Gradually, she chose smaller parts and left the main parts Mademoiselle Du Parc and Armande Béjart

Armande Béjart

Armande-Grésinde-Claire-Élisabeth Béjart , was a French actress, one of the most famous French stage actors of the 17th-century. She belonged to the Béjart family, a famous theatre family in 17th-century France, and daughter of Madeleine Béjart. She was married to Molière in 1662...

. She had a relationship with Molière, in which she rivaled her daughter Armande Béjart.

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."

Sources