Born: 5 June 1856, France
Died: 14 June 1920
Country most active: International
Also known as: Gabrille Rejane; Gabrielle-Charlotte Reju
From Famous Women: An Outline of Feminine Achievement Through the Ages With Life Stories of Five Hundred Noted Women. Written by Joseph Adelman, published 1926 by Ellis M Lonow Company:
Gabrielle Réjane, a French actress, born in Paris. She was a pupil of Regnier at the Conservatoire, and took second prize for comedy in 1847.
She made her début the following year, but her first great success was in Henri Meilhac’s Ma Camarada, in 1883, and she soon became known as an emotional actress of rare gifts.
In later years she created her two most famous parts, Madame Sans Gene and Zaza, which she played successfully in London and New York. In 1906 she opened the Théâtre Réjane in Paris.
In every critique of Réjane there is a pointed reference to her wonderful fluency and flexibility of style, her fertility of invention, the natural transitions of her mood, and that peculiar finess of taste which belongs to her nation. Sarcey called her “the very essence of the Parisienne.”