Bejart, Madeleine and Armande

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Bejart, Madeleine and Armande

French actresses, belonging to a 17th-century theatrical family, who originated roles in the plays of Molière.

Bejart, Madeleine (1618–1672). Name variations: Béjart. Born Madeleine Bejart in 1618; died on February 17, 1672; daughter of Joseph (an official in the Chief Bureau of Forests and Waterways) and Marie (Hervé) Bejart.

Bejart, Armande (c. 1642–1700). Name variations: Mlle Menou, "Miss Puss." Born Armande Grésinde Claire Elizabeth Bejart in 1642 or 1643; died in 1700; possibly daughter of Madeleine Bejart and the Count of Modène; married Molière (the dramatist), in 1662 (died 1673); married Isaac-François Guérin d'Estriché (an actor), in 1677; children: (with Molière) daughter Ésprit-Madeleine (b. 1666), and two sons (both of whom died in infancy).

The Bejart family, including Madeleine, Armande, Joseph, Louis, and Geneviève , all acted in the plays of Molière (pseudonym of Jean Baptiste Poqueline) and were members of his troupe, performing in Paris and in the provinces.

Madeleine Bejart headed up a traveling company, which included her siblings Geneviève, Joseph, and Louis, before meeting Molière and forming the Illustre Théâtre in June 1643. By some accounts, it was Molière's love for Madeleine that inspired him to become involved in the theatre. Securing for herself contract rights to select the roles she wished to play, Madeleine acted in the troupe and also managed its finances until her death in 1672. Her most famous roles, some of which were created especially for her by Molière, were Marotte in The Affected Young Ladies (1659), Lisette in The School for Husbands (1661), and Dorine in Tartuffe (1664).

Some sources claim that Armande was the sister and not the daughter of Madeleine Béjart, though the reported dates of birth do not bear this out. Armande may have been Madeleine's child with the aristocratic Count of Modène, but it was also scandalously rumored that Molière was Armande's father. Molière married Armande when she was 19 and he was 40. Theirs was reportedly an unhappy union; it is said that Molière was passionately jealous while Armande was a great flirt. Their first son, born in 1664, did not live. After the birth of a daughter in 1666, the pair separated only to see each other at performances until their reconciliation in 1671. A second son, born in 1672, also did not survive. Said to be a charming actress and the best interpreter of Molière's plays, Armande was at her finest as Celimène in Le Misanthrope and was deemed outstanding as Angélique in The Imaginary Invalid.

Bejart, Geneviève (c. 1622–1775)

French actress. Name variations: Geneviève Hervé. Born around 1622; died in 1775; daughter of Joseph (an official in the Chief Bureau of Forests and Waterways) and Marie (Hervé) Bejart. Geneviève performed under her mother's maiden name of Hervé.

After Molière's death, Armande merged the troupe with the failing Theatre du Marais, to form the Troupe du Roi. The new group floundered somewhat until 1679, when it absorbed the company of the Hotel de Bourgogne, in Paris, securing at the same time the services of the great tragedienne Marie Champmeslé . The combined troupe became the renowned Comédie Française. Armande married the actor Isaac-François Guérin d'Estriché in 1677. In 1694, she retired from the stage, six years before her death.