Zizi Jeanmaire

Renée Marcelle Jeanmaire, known as Zizi Jeanmaire, (born April 29 1924) is a ballet dancer and wife of renowned dancer and choreographer Roland Petit. She became famous in the 1950s because of her title role in the ballet "Carmen", produced in London in 1949.

Born in Paris, France, she met her future husband and long-time collaborator Roland Petit at the Paris Opera Ballet at the age of nine. In 1954 they married, and their successful shows put her on the road to stardom. By this time she was the prima ballerina at Les Ballets des Champs-Elysées. She became noted for her energy and passion.

This led to a brief stint in Hollywood (where she was credited as "Jeanmaire"), appearing in the musicals "Hans Christian Andersen" (1952) and "Anything Goes" (1956). After that, she concentrated on ballet, producing more than 60 shows with Petit.

American artist Joseph Cornell was obsessed with Jeanmaire, although they only spoke briefly when he visited her dressing room after a performance of "Carmen", he treasured her autograph, he kept a folder of Jeanmaire clippings and pictures and he staged a personal tribute to her at his gallery: "La Lanterne Magique du Ballet Romantique" by Joseph Cornell. She was the subject of a documentary by Mischa Scorer in 1998 entitled "Zizi, Je T'Aime". Zizi is also mentioned in Peter Sarstedt's 1969 UK number one hit "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)":

:"You talk like Marlene Dietrich:And you dance like Zizi Jeanmaire..."

Filmography

*"Hans Christian Andersen" (1952)
*"Anything Goes" (1956)
*"Folies-Bergère" (1956)
*"Too Many Lovers" (1957)
*"Guinguette" (1959)
*"Black Tights" (1960)

Theater credits

* "The Girl in Pink Tights" Broadway (1954)

External links

* [http://www.gainsbourg.org/vrsn3/html/disco/interpretes/interpretes_zizijeanmaire.html A Tribute to Gainsbourg, Zizi Jeanmaire interprète] French
*imdb name|id=0419929|name=Zizi Jeanmaire

Bibliography

* Zizi Jeanmaire with Gérard Mannoni (2002) "Zizi", Paris: Assouline, 2002, 147 pages, in French. ISBN 2-84323-389-5