Desgarcins, Magdeleine Marie (1769–1797)

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Desgarcins, Magdeleine Marie (1769–1797)

French actress. Born Magdeleine Marie Louise at Mont Dauphin (Hautes Alpes) in 1769; died in Paris on October 27, 1797.

In her short career, Magdeleine Desgarcins was numbered among the greatest of French tragediennes. She was an associate of François Talma, with whom she almost always played. Desgarcins debut came at the Comédie Française on May 24, 1788, in Bajazet, a performance that was so successful that she was immediately made sociétaire. In 1791, she was one of the actresses who left the Comédie Française and followed Talma to the house in the rue Richelieu, which was soon to become the Théâtre de la République, where she triumphed in King Lear, Otello, and La Harpe's Melanie et Virginie. Desgarcins' health failed, however, and she died insane in Paris on October 27, 1797.

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