Elvire Popesco
| Elvira Popescu | |
|---|---|
Elvire Popesco by Paramount
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| Born |
Elvira Popescu May 10, 1894 Bucharest, Romania |
| Died | December 11, 1993 (aged 99) Paris, France |
| Nationality | Romanian, French |
| Years active | 1910–1978 |
| Spouse(s) | Aurel Athanasescu Ion Manolescu-Strunga Maximilien Sébastien Foy |
Elvira Popescu (Romanian pronunciation: [elˈvira poˈpesku]; in French, Elvire Popesco; May 10, 1894 – December 11, 1993) was a Romanian-French stage and movie actress and theatre director.
Born in Bucharest, Popescu studied drama at the Conservatorul de Artă Dramatică, under the guidance of Constantin Nottara and Aristizza Romanescu. In 1911 Grigore Brezeanu was making the first Romanian films to deal with fiction. He employed Popesco as well as other leading actors like Constantin Nottara and Aristizza Romanescu. The first two films were called "Fatal Love" and "Spin a Yarn". No copies are known of these films. Popesco 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), 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). 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), and Purple Noon (René Clément, 1960).
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