Encyclopedia.com > Encyclopedias, Almanacs, Transcripts, and Maps > The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre

Gaussin Jeanne-Cathérine

The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre | 1996 | 700+ words | Copyright

Gaussin Jeanne-Cathérine [ Jeanne-Cathérine Gaussem] (1711–67), French actress, daughter of Baron's valet, who made her first appearance at the Comédie-Française in 1731 as Junie in Racine's Britannicus. She was at her best in roles demanding tenderness and grief rather than the sterner passions; with her dark, languorous eyes and rich voice (which, as a contemporary critic said, ‘had tears in it’), she never lost her youthful look, playing young girls until her retirement in 1763. She appeared in several of Voltaire's plays, notably Zaïre (1732), and was considered unrivalled in the sentimental comedies of La Chaussée. In 1759 she made an unhappy marriage with a dancer at the Opéra, and retired from the stage four years later.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Gaussin Jeanne-Cathérine." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Gaussin Jeanne-Cathérine." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-GaussinJeanneCathrine.html

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Gaussin Jeanne-Cathérine." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-GaussinJeanneCathrine.html

Learn more about citation styles

Find thousands of answers for hundreds of subjects at Answers Encyclopedia .

All answers verified by trusted sources at Encyclopedia.com

Try Answers Encyclopedia now!

For students and teachers!

Encyclopedia.com provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including:

Encyclopedia.com provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including: