Zizi Jeanmaire
| Zizi Jeanmaire | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Zizi Jeanmaire (1963) | |
| Born |
Renée Marcelle Jeanmaire 29 April 1924 Paris, France |
| Residence | Geneva, Switzerland |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Dancer, actress |
| Years active | 1949-1982 |
| Spouse(s) |
Roland Petit (1954-2011; his death) |
| Children | 1 |
Zizi Jeanmaire (born 29 April 1924) is a French ballet dancer and widow of renowned dancer and choreographer Roland Petit. She became famous in the 1950s after playing the title role in the ballet Carmen, produced in London in 1949, and went on to appear in several Hollywood films.
Background
Born Renée Marcelle Jeanmaire in Paris, she met her future husband and long-time collaborator Roland Petit at the Paris Opera Ballet at the age of nine. She joined his company, Petit's ballets de Paris in 1949. In 1954, they married, and their successful shows put her on the road to stardom. This led to a brief stint in Hollywood (where she was credited simply 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. From the 1960s on, she also had a career in music with such hits as "Mon truc en plumes".[1]
Personal life
She and Petit had one daughter, Valentine Petit, a dancer and actress.[2][3]
Jeanmaire is mentioned in the lyrics of the song by Peter Sarstedt, "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?", in the first line "You talk like Marlene Dietrich, and you dance like Zizi Jeanmaire / Your clothes are all made by Balmain and you've diamonds and pearls in your hair".
Filmography
- Hans Christian Andersen (1952)
- Anything Goes (1956)
- Folies-Bergère (1956)
- Too Many Lovers (1957)
- Guinguette (1959)
- Black Tights (1961)
Theater credits
- The Girl in Pink Tights Broadway (1954)
- Can-Can Broadway (1981)
References
- ↑ Obituary for Roland Petit, telegraph.co.uk; accessed 20 March 2015.
- ↑ Obituary for Roland Petit, nytimes.com; accessed 20 March 2014.
- ↑ Photo (Jeanmaire and daughter), corbisimages.com; accessed 20 March 2014.
External links
- A Tribute to Gainsbourg, Zizi Jeanmaire interprète French
- Zizi Jeanmaire at the Internet Movie Database
Bibliography
- Zizi. Zizi Jeanmaire with Gérard Mannoni (2002), Paris: Assouline, 2002, 147 pages (French); ISBN 2-84323-389-5
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