Elvira Popescu

Elvìra Popèscu
Elvìre Popèsco by Paramount
Born	Elvìra Popèscu (1894-05-10)10 May 1894 Bucharest, Romania
Died	11 December 1993(1993-12-11) (aged 99) Paris, France
Resting place	Père Lachaise Cemetery
Nationality	Romanian, French
Alma mater	Music and Drama Conservatory
Years active	1910–1978
Spouse(s)	Aurel Athanasescu Ion Manolescu-Strunga Maximilien Sébastien Foy

Elvìra Popèscu (Romanian pronunciation:

In 1919 she became artistic director of the Excelsior Theatre.[3] In 1921, Popescu started Teatrul Mic, which she managed in parallel with the Excelsior.^[4] In 1923, she starred in the movie Țigăncușa 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), La Machine infernale (1954), Nina (1949), and La Mamma (1957). Later on, she was director of Théâtre de Paris (1956–1965), and Théâtre Marigny (1965–1978).^[5] At age 84, she played again in La Mamma.

Elvira Popescu also played in movies, such as La 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),^[6] and Purple Noon (René Clément, 1960).

Personal life

Shortly after her debut in 1910, Popescu married comedian Aurel Athanasescu and they had a daughter named Tatiana.^[7] After a few years, she divorced, and married Ion Manolescu-Strunga, Minister of Industry and Commerce^[3] (who was to die in Sighet Prison in the 1950s). Her third husband was Count Maximilien Sébastien Foy (born in Paris on 17 April 1900, died in Neuilly-sur-Seine on 11 November 1967).^[8]

She died in Paris at age 99, and was interred at Père Lachaise Cemetery.^[6]

Honours

• In 1987, Elvira Popescu received the first honorary Molière Award for career achievements.^[6]
• In 1989,
  Légion d’honneur
  .

Legacy

• 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 (13,180 sq ft) lot, has 22 rooms, spread over 500 m² (5,400 sq ft) of living area; it was put on the market in 2005 for about 2 million Euros.^{[citation needed]}
• From 1930 to 1985, Elvira Popescu lived in a villa in
  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, La Blouse Roumaine (1940).^{[citation needed]}

Partial filmography

Notes