Polaire

Mlle Polaire was the stage name used by French singer and actress Emilie Marie Bouchaud (May 14, 1874 – October 14, 1939). Born at Agha, Algiers, Algeria, she began her show-business career as a café singer, at age 15. At 17, she joined her older brother in Paris, France. Eventually adopting the stage name Polaire, she worked as a music-hall singer; in 1895, her fame increased significantly when Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's sketch of her appeared ... more

Mlle Polaire was the stage name used by French singer and actress Emilie Marie Bouchaud (May 14, 1874 – October 14, 1939). Born at Agha, Algiers, Algeria, she began her show-business career as a café singer, at age 15. At 17, she joined her older brother in Paris, France. Eventually adopting the stage name Polaire, she worked as a music-hall singer; in 1895, her fame increased significantly when Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's sketch of her appeared in the satirical magazine Le Rire; in 1900, attention grew again, when her portrait was painted by Leonetto Cappiello. Polaire went on to act in the theatre. Her first major appearance was in 1902, at the Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens, in the title role of a play based on Colette's Claudine à Paris. A gifted comedic actress, she became one of the major celebrities of her day. At a time when tightlacing among women was in vogue, she was famous for her tiny, corsetted waist, which was sometimes reported to have a circumference no greater than 14... less