Jane Avril

Jane Avril

Jane Avril (1868 – 1943) was a French can-can dancer made famous by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec through his paintings.

She was born Jeanne Beaudon in the Belleville section of Paris, France. Her emotionally distant and absent father, Count Luigi di Font never played the role of father, and her alcoholic mother brutally and frequently beat young Jeanne until she finally ran away from home. Caught by the authorities, the frightened and combative girl was deemed insane and committed to the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital. Under the care of Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot, the expert on "female hysterics" she calmed down, and at a social dance for employees of the hospital the girl put on a dancing exhibition that captivated everyone. Released to the streets of Paris at age sixteen, Jeanne Beaudon headed straight to the Latin Quarter, home to the city's artistic crowd.

Working at whatever day jobs were available, at night she pursued a career in dancing by performing at local clubs. In 1888, she met the writer René Boylesve (1867–1926) who is said to have become quite taken by the beautiful but shy young girl. Using the stage name Jane Avril, she built a reputation that eventually allowed her to make a living as a full time dancer. Hired by the Moulin Rouge nightclub in 1889, within a few years she headlined at the Jardin de Paris, one of the major café-concerts on the Champs-Élysées. To advertise the extravaganza, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec painted her portrait on a poster that elevated her stature in the entertainment world even further. The popularity of the Cancan became such that Jane Avril travelled with a dance troupe to perform in London.

In 1895, the owners of the Moulin Rouge offered her a great deal of money to take on the risky task of replacing Louise Weber, the most famous dancer in Paris known as La Goulue. Graceful, soft-spoken, and melancholic, Jane Avril gave a dance presentation that was the opposite of the very bodacious La Goulue. Nevertheless, the club's patrons adored her and she became one of the most recognizable names of the Parisian nightlife. That same year, Avril gave birth to a son but quickly returned to dancing and remained a star for many more years.

A woman of intelligence and with a sense of aloof grace, at age 42 she met and married the German artist, Maurice Biais (c.1875–1926), and the couple moved to a home in Jouy-en-Josas at the outskirts of Paris. However, her husband soon began to stray, often disappearing for days at a time, and for years she lived a miserable existence with the irresponsible Biais. Without any financial support following his death in 1926, Avril lived in near poverty on what little was left of her savings.

Jane Avril died in a seniors' home in 1943 at the age of 75, and was interred in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Forgotten since Zsa Zsa Gabor portrayed her in the original "Moulin Rouge", she was reborn in the 2001 film "Moulin Rouge!" which starred Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, also in that same year the noted French biographer, François Caradec, published "Jane Avril: Au Moulin Rouge Avec Toulouse-Lautrec".

Jane Avril is one of the characters in Per Olov Enquist's book "The Book of Blanche and Marie", which portrays the lives of Blanche Wittman and Marie Curie.

External links

* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7776 Jane Avril] at Find-A-Grave


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Jane Avril — Henri Toulouse Lautrec: Plakat Jane Avril Jane Avril, geborene Jeanne Richepin, auch Mélinite genannt (* 31. Mai 1868 in Paris; † 16. Januar 1943 ebenda) war eine französische Tänzerin …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Jane Avril — Photo vers 1893 Pour les articles homonymes, voir Avril (homonymie). Jane Avril, pseudonyme de Jeanne Louise Beaudon, née le 9 juin  …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jane Avril — El famoso afiche de Toulouse Lautrec. Jane Avril (París, 1868 – 1943) nacida Jeanne Beaudon, fue una bailarina de cancán del cabaret parisino Moulin Rouge que alcanzó la fama al ser inmortalizada por Henri de Toulouse Lautrec. Contenido …   Wikipedia Español

  • Jane (Vorname) — Jane ist ein weiblicher Vorname. Varianten Die maorische Variante zu Jane ist Heeni.[1] Herkunft und Bedeutung Jane ist eine englische Form von Johanna und hat daher dieselbe Bedeutung. Bekannte Namensträgerinnen Inhaltsverzeichnis A B C D …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Avril (Homonymie) — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Avril — may refer to:* Avril is the French word for the month of April. People s namesFirst names*Avril Angers, English comedian *Avril Benoît, Canadian broadcaster *Avril Kim Campbell, Canada s first female Prime Minister *Avril Doyle, Irish politician… …   Wikipedia

  • Avril — ist ein Vor und Familienname. Der Vorname ist die französische Variante des englischen Vornamens (und Monats) April [1] bzw. des spanischen Vornamens (und Monats) Abril. [2] Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Namensträger 1.1 Familienname …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Avril (homonymie) — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Sur les autres projets Wikimedia : « Avril (homonymie) », sur le Wiktionnaire (dictionnaire universel) Avril peut désigner : Avril est …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jane's Addiction — Pays d’origine États Unis Genre musical Metal alternatif Rock alternatif Années d activité …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jane’s Addiction — Jane s Addiction Jane s Addiction Pays d’origine États Unis Genre(s) Rock alternatif Metal alternatif Funk rock Années …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”