About

Known credits:
36
Birthday:
1894-05-10
Place of birth:
Bucarest, Romania
Website:
N/A

Elvira Popescu

Overview

Elvira Popescu (10 May 1894 – 11 December 1993) was a Romanian-French stage and film actress and theatre director. During the 1930s and 1940s, she starred in a number of French comedy films.

Born in Bucharest, Popescu studied drama at the Music and Drama Conservatory in her native city, under the guidance of Constantin Nottara and Aristizza Romanescu. In 1911 Grigore Brezeanu was making the first Romanian films to deal with fiction. He employed Popesco as well as other leading actors like Nottara and Romanescu. The first two films were called "Fatal Love" and "Spin a Yarn". No copies are known of these films. Popesco made her debut at the National Theatre Bucharest at age 16. In 1912, she played herself in the movie Independența României, directed by Aristide Demetriade.

In 1919 she became artistic director of the Excelsior Theatre. In 1921, Popescu started Teatrul Mic, which she managed in parallel with the Excelsior. In 1923, she starred in the movie Ţigăncuşa de la iatac, directed by Alfred Halm.

At the urging of Louis Verneuil, the French playwright, Popescu moved in 1924 to Paris. Under Verneuil's direction, she played the leading role in Ma Cousine de Varsovie, at the Théâtre Michel (1923). She also played in Tovaritch (1933), La Machine infernale (1954), Nina (1949), and La Mamma (1957). Later on, she was director of Théâtre de Paris (1956–1965), and Théâtre Marigny (1965–1978).[5] At age 84, she played again in La Mamma.

Elvira Popescu also played in movies, such as La Présidente (Fernand Rivers, 1938), Tricoche et Cacolet (Pierre Colombier, 1938), Ils étaient neuf célibataires (Sacha Guitry, 1939), Paradis perdu (Abel Gance, 1940), Austerlitz (Abel Gance, 1960),[6] and Purple Noon (René Clément, 1960).

Shortly after her debut in 1910, Popescu married comedian Aurel Athanasescu and they had a daughter named Tatiana. After a few years, she divorced, and married Ion Manolescu-Strunga, Minister of Industry and Commerce (who was to die in Sighet prison in the 1950s). Her third husband was Count Maximilien Sébastien Foy (born in Paris on 17 April 1900, died in Neuilly-sur-Seine on 11 November 1967).

She died in Paris at age 99, and was interred at Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Source: Article "Elvira Popescu" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Known for

Acting
2018 Clouzot : The Early Works Actor N/A
N/A
1972 La voyante Actor Karma, la voyante N/A
N/A
1966 La Mamma Actor Rosaria N/A
N/A
1960 The Battle of Austerlitz Actor Lætitia Bonaparte 59
Average
1960 Purple Noon Actor Mrs. Popova 67
Fair
1943 Fou d'amour Actor Arabella N/A
N/A
1942 The Blue Veil Actor Mona Lorenza 59
Average
1942 Frédérica Actor Frédérica 58
Average
1942 Mademoiselle Swing Actor Sofia de Vinci 59
Average
1942 L'âge d'or Actor N/A
N/A
1941 Le valet maître Actor N/A
N/A
1941 Parade in 7 Nights Actor Madame Fanny 58
Average
1940 The Mondesir Heir Actor Erika, l'aventurière 58
Average
1939 Sacred Woods Actor Francine Margerie N/A
N/A
1939 Paradis perdu Actor Sonia Vorochine 59
Average
1939 Nine Bachelors Actor Comtesse Stacia Batchefskaïa 59
Average
1939 The Fatted Calf Actor Princess Dorothée 59
Average
1939 Behind the Facade Actor Mme Rameau, épouse d'un industriel et maîtresse d'Alfrédo 59
Average
1939 Deputy Eusèbe Actor Mariska N/A
N/A
1938 Mon curé chez les riches Actor Lisette Cousinet 58
Average
1938 Bargekeepers Daughter Actor The Queen of Silistrie 59
Average
1938 Tricoche and Cacolet Actor Bernardine Van der Pouf 59
Average
1938 La Présidente Actor Vérotcha N/A
N/A
1937 In Venice, One Night Actor Nadia Mortal 58
Average
1937 The Green Dress Actor La duchesse de Maulévrier 59
Average
1937 Le Club des Aristocrates Actor La comtesse Irène Waldapowska N/A
N/A
1937 The House Across the Street Actor Madame Anna N/A
N/A
1937 The Man of the Day Actor Mona Thalia 59
Average
1936 The King Actor Thérèse Marnix N/A
N/A
1936 L'Amant de Madame Vidal Actor N/A
N/A
1935 Dora Nelson Actor Dora Nelson / Suzanne Verdier N/A
N/A
1934 Une femme chipée Actor Hélène Larsonnier N/A
N/A
1932 Sa meilleure cliente Actor Edwige 58
Average
1931 My Cousin From Warsaw Actor Sonia Varilovna 58
Average
1931 The stranger Actor Dora Clarkson N/A
N/A
1923 Tigancusa de la iatac Actor Maria Tortusanu - Vasil's fiancée 58
Average