Mistinguett
Biography
Mistinguett (born Jeanne Florentine Bourgeois; 5 April 1873 – 5 January 1956) was a French actress and singer. She was at one time the highest-paid female entertainer in the world. The daughter of Antoine Bourgeois, a 31-year-old day-labourer, and Jeannette Debrée, a 21-year-old seamstress, Jeanne Bourgeois was born at 5 Rue du Chemin-de-Fer (today Rue Gaston-Israël), in Enghien-les-Bains, Val-d'Oise, Île-de-France, France. The family moved to Soisy-sous-Montmorency where she spent her childhood; her parents later worked as mattress-makers. At an early age Bourgeois aspired to be an entertainer. She began as a flower seller in a restaurant in her hometown, singing popular ballads as she sold blossoms. After taking classes in theatre and singing, she began her career as an entertainer in 1885. One day on the train to Paris for a violin lesson, she met Saint-Marcel, who directed the revue at the Casino de Paris. He engaged her first as a stage-hand, and here she began to pursue her goal to become an entertainer, experimenting with various stage-names, being successively Miss Helyett, Miss Tinguette, Mistinguette and, finally, Mistinguett. In the 1880s Mistinguett visited her neighbour Anna Thibaud to ask for advice. Thibaud told her, "To succeed in the theatre ... you must be pretty. You must excite men." Mistinguett asked if she meant that she had to excite the crowds. Thibaud repeated, "No, the men!" Bourgeois made her debut as Mistinguett at the Casino de Paris in 1895 and went on to appear in venues such as the Folies Bergère, Moulin Rouge and Eldorado. Her risqué routines captivated Paris, and she went on to become the most popular French entertainer of her time and the highest-paid female entertainer in the world, known for her flamboyance and a zest for the theatrical. In 1919, her legs were insured for 500,000 Francs. Though Mistinguett never married, she had a son, Leopoldo João de Lima e Silva, born in 1901, from a liaison she had with a Brazilian diplomat, Leopoldo José de Lima e Silva (1872-1931). She also had a long relationship with Maurice Chevalier, 13 years her junior. It is claimed that she and Chevalier informed the police in 1940 that singer-songwriter Charles Trenet was gay and consorting with youths. She first recorded her signature song, "Mon Homme", in 1916. It was popularised under its English title "My Man" by Fanny Brice and has become a standard in the repertoire of numerous pop and jazz singers. During a tour of the United States, Mistinguett was asked by Time magazine to explain her popularity. Her answer was, "It is a kind of magnetism. I say 'Come closer' and draw them to me." Mistinguett died in Bougival, France, at the age of 82, attended by her son, a doctor. She is buried in the Cimetière Enghien-les-Bains, Île-de-France, France. Source: Article "Mistinguett" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Known For & Full Filmography9 Titles
Movie - 1917, 2h 15m • as Miss
A man and a woman crash a party
Movie - 1911, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
An actress returns from the theatre and discovers her apartment has been burglarized; she lights a cigarette and the room catches fire; the burglar saves her life, and she, in return, saves his, and he returns her jewels.
Movie - 1916, 2h 15m • as Mistinguett / Margot Panard
Fleur de Paris has Mistinguett playing herself in a double role as two very different characters. One role has her performing as a music hall star, whose popularity leads an American impresario to lure her with a lucrative offer to tour the United States. The other role turns her into Margot Panard, a young working-class dressmaker lured to the theater by posters of Mistinguett.
Movie - 1948, 2h 15m • as Self (archive footage)
Nicole Védrès' chronicle of Paris from 1900 to 1914 is brought to life through the use of original material, all authentic, secured from more then 700 films belonging to public and private collections. A few of the celebrities of the time shown are Enrico Caruso, Sarah Bernhardt, and Maurice Chevalier.
Movie - 2005, 2h 15m • as Herself
An outstanding performance featuring brilliant storytelling, high stakes drama, and unforgettable character arcs.
Movie - 1908, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
Who killed this man to rob him of his money in this notorious neighborhood of Paris? The usual local scoundrel such as the one that has almost been lynched by the mob and arrested by the police? Not at all. In fact the poor man is innocent, even though appearances are deceiving. The real culprit is a respectably-looking man who, to divert suspicion, has put some blood of his victim on his fingers and some of the stolen money in his pockets while he was asleep.
Movie - 1916, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
An outstanding performance featuring brilliant storytelling, high stakes drama, and unforgettable character arcs.
Movie - 1955, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role
A painter gives his daughter a television set for her 18th birthday. On the evening of the party, the family sits in the living room and watches a series of variety shows taken from the sets of theatrical performances and various films recited by the famous Totò,
Movie - 1911, 2h 15m • as Miss Plumcake
French comedy short.