Background
Marie Champmeslé was born in Rouen of a wealthy family. Her father's name was Desmares.
Actor Sociétaires of the Comédie-Française
Marie Champmeslé was born in Rouen of a wealthy family. Her father's name was Desmares.
By 1669 they were playing in Paris 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'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. When the latter company merged into the new Comédie-Française, Phaedre was selected for the opening on 26 August 1680.
Here, with Madame Gurin as the leading comedy actress, she played the great tragic love parts for more than thirty years. During her career, “La Champmeslé” created a large number of famous roles. Besides those already mentioned, she did Bérénice, Ariane, Atalide in Bajazet, Monime in Mithridate, Iphigénie in Iphigénie en Aulide, and the same character in Oreste et Pylade.
She left the stage in a vain attempt to restore her health at Anteuil, where she died. La Fontaine dedicated to her his novel Belphegor, and Boileau immortalized her in verse. Her husband distinguished himself both as actor and playwright, and his Farisien (1682) gave Mme Gurin one of her greatest successes.
She made her debut at the Comédie-Française in 1699, in La Grange Chancels Oreste et Pylade, and was at once received as sociétaire. She retired in 1721.