Margaret Kelly Leibovici
| Margaret Kelly Leibovici | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Margaret Kelly |
| Born |
June 24, 1910 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | September 11, 2004 (aged 94) Paris, France |
| Occupation(s) | dancer |
Margaret Kelly Leibovici (24 June 1910 – 11 September 2004), known as Miss Bluebell, was an Irish dancer who was the founder of the Bluebell Girls dance troupe.
Margaret Kelly was born in Dublin on 24 June 1910 at the Rotunda Hospital. She never knew her parents. An Irish priest entrusted her to Mary Murphy, a spinster who worked at home as a dressmaker. In 1916, following the Easter uprising, both moved to Liverpool, where, on the direction of a doctor, Kelly was registered in a dance class to strengthen her frail legs. Quickly, it appeared that she had a great talent.
At the age of 14, Kelly left school and joined a Scottish dance troupe called the Hot Jocks. Nine months later, she was contracted to the Scala in Berlin by noted producer Alfred Jackson, manager of the Jackson Girls. Kelly remained at the Scala for 5 years.
Beginning in 1930, Kelly danced in Paris for the Folies Bergère. In 1932, when she was 22, she created her own troupe there called the Bluebell Girls.
In 1939, she married Marcel Leibovici (1904-1961), a stateless Romanian Jew, pianist and composer at the Folies Bergère. During the Second World War, they had two sons: Patrick (1939) and Francis (1941). Following the German occupation of Paris in 1940, Margaret, now pregnant with Francis, was arrested by the French police and interned in Besançon. She was freed from custody by the Irish chargé d'affaires, Count O'Kelly. However, in 1942, Marcel was arrested and deported to the internment camp of Gurs. The French Resistance helped him flee to Gurs and return to Paris, where he was hidden by his wife opposite the Prefecture of Police building until the Liberation. During this time, Margaret ensured him food and security at the risk of her life. Suspected of protecting her husband, she was interrogated by the Gestapo, but in spite of intense questioning, Margaret succeeded in not divulging his whereabouts.François Truffaut's film The Last Metro is inspired by this event in the life of Margaret Kelly and her husband.
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