Rita Jolivet

Rita Jolivet (born Marguerite Lucile Jolivet; 25 September 1884 – 2 March 1971) was an English actress of French descent in theatre and silent films in the early 20th century. She was known in private life as the Countess Marguerita de Cippico.

She was born on 25 September 1884 in Castleton, Richmond County, New York, one of the three children of Charles Eugene Jolivet (1840–1920) from Carmansville, New York, United States, an owner of extensive vineyards in France, and his French wife, Pauline Hélène Vaillant (1857–1957), a talented musician who retired from the concert stage after marrying in 1879.

Jolivet had a sister, Inez Henriette, and a brother, Alfred Eugene. Jolivet's great-great grandmother was the only member of her family to avoid the guillotine during the French Revolution. Her grandmother Vaillant was among the beautés de Cour in the court of Napoleon III.

Jolivet was an intimate of the inner society circles in London and a close friend of the family of Lord Lowther, the British ambassador to Turkey. Her sister, Leigh, was a noted violinist, who performed as Inez Jolivet. She had been awarded decorations from King Edward VII and Czar Nicholas II.

She began her stage career as a youth, making her London debut in Much Ado About Nothing. Jolivet also played Juliet for producer William Poel of London, in Romeo and Juliet. Poel maintained a company of players which performed in university towns in Britain, giving performances of Shakespeare. Jolivet was a pupil of Mademoiselle Thenaud, who had been a leading actress of the Comédie-Française and who was a personal palm reader to Queen Victoria. In 1910, Jolivet was the leading lady in George Alexander's play The Eccentric Lord Comberdene.

...
Wikipedia