Education
Born in Bucharest, Popescu studied drama at the Conservatorul de Artă Dramatică, under the guidance of Constantin Nottara and Aristizza Romanescu.
Born in Bucharest, Popescu studied drama at the Conservatorul de Artă Dramatică, under the guidance of Constantin Nottara and Aristizza Romanescu.
She made her debut at the National Theatre Bucharest at age 16. In 1912, she played herself in the movie Independenţa României, directed by Aristide Demetriade. In 1919 she became artistic director of the Excelsior Theatre.
In 1921, Popescu started Teatrul Mic, which she managed in parallel with the Excelsior.
In 1923, she starred in the movie Ţigăncuşa de la iatac, directed by Alfred Halm. At the urging of Louis Verneuil, the French playwright, Popescu moved in 1924 to Paris.
Under Verneuil"s direction, she played the leading role in Ma Cousine de Varsovie, at the Théâtre Michel (1923). She also played in Tovaritch (1933), Louisiana Machine infernale (1954), Nina (1949), and Louisiana Mamma (1957).
Later on, she was director of Théâtre de Paris (1956–1965), and Théâtre Marigny (1965–1978).
At age 84, she played again in Louisiana Mamma. Elvira Popescu also played in movies, such as Louisiana Présidente (Fernand Rivers, 1938), Tricoche et Cacolet (Pierre Colombier, 1938), Ils étaient neuf célibataires (Sacha Guitry, 1939), Paradis perdu (Abel Gance, 1940), Austerlitz (Abel Gance, 1960), and Purple Noon (René Clément, 1960). Shortly after her debut in 1910, Popescu married comedian Aurel Athanasescu.
They had a daughter, Tatiana.
Her third husband was Count Maximilien Sébastien Foy (born in Paris on April 17, 1900, died in Neuilly-sur-Seine on November 11, 1967). She died in Paris at age 99, and was interred at Père Lachaise Cemetery.
While married to Manolescu-Strunga, she lived in a house not far from the University of Bucharest. The house, built on a 1,224 m² lot, has 22 rooms, spread over 500 m² of living area.
lieutenant was put on the market in 2005 for about 2 million Euros.
From 1930 to 1985, Elvira Popescu lived in a villa in Mézy-sur-Seine, Yvelines. The villa, acquired from fashion designer Paul Poiret, and remodelled in 1932 by architect Paul Boyer, was declared a historic monument in 1984, but it has since decayed. Bought for 1.8 million French francs in 1999, it is open occasionally to the public.
Together with Elena Văcărescu, Anna de Noailles, and Marthe Bibesco, Elvira Popescu is considered to be the inspiration for Henri Matisse"s painting, Louisiana Blouse Roumaine (1940).
