Q 01/05

What was Sarah Bernhardt's name at birth?

A) Sara Judith Hirsch

B) Rosine Julie Damala

C) Henriette-Rosine Bernard

D) Marie-Rosalie Bernhard

Answer · why

C) Henriette-Rosine Bernard

She was born in the Latin Quarter of Paris on 22 October 1844 to a Dutch-Jewish courtesan.

Q 02/05

What was the profession of Bernhardt's mother, Judith Bernard?

A) Milliner

B) Opera singer

C) Governess

D) Courtesan

Answer · why

D) Courtesan

Her patrons included the Duke of Morny, half-brother of Napoleon III, who later steered Sarah towards the stage.

Q 03/05

For what act was the young Bernhardt accused of sacrilege at her convent school near Versailles?

A) Reciting Victor Hugo in chapel

B) Acting the Archangel Raphael in male costume

C) Refusing to take first communion

D) Giving her pet lizard a Christian burial

Answer · why

D) Giving her pet lizard a Christian burial

She had declared she wanted to be a nun; she took first communion as a Catholic in 1856.

Q 04/05

Which powerful figure proposed at a family council in 1857 that Bernhardt should become an actress?

A) Alexandre Dumas fils

B) Emperor Napoleon III

C) The Duke of Morny

D) Baron Haussmann

Answer · why

C) The Duke of Morny

He arranged her first-ever theatre visit, to Racine's Britannicus, where she sobbed so loudly she disturbed the audience.

Q 05/05

Which writer, comforting the weeping girl after her first play, called her 'my little star'?

A) Victor Hugo

B) Théophile Gautier

C) Alexandre Dumas père

D) Émile Zola

Answer · why

C) Alexandre Dumas père

He told Morny she was destined for the stage and later coached her for her Conservatory audition.