Fascinating, but Sarah Bernhardt was not the ‘first real star in history’ or however it’s phrased. Charlotte Cushman for instance came earlier and she was a huge star in her time. There may have been others, I’m no expert on celebrity culture.

What is true & sad about those early actors is that their acting is lost to us and probably wouldn’t be appreciated by us even if we saw it.

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/apr/09/paris-exhibition-sarah-bernhardt-petit-palais-centenary

#SarahBernhardt #CharlotteCushman #19thCActors #acting #theatre

#GenderBending role model and great artist of the theatre #CharlotteCushman https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/the-rise-and-fall-and-rise-again-of-americas-first-celebritya-woman-who-loved-other-women-180981051/ - book Lady Romeo: The Radical and Revolutionary Life of Charlotte Cushman, America’s First Celebrity @bookstodon https://www.amazon.com/Lady-Romeo-Revolutionary-Charlotte-Celebrity/dp/1501199528

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/the-rise-and-fall-and-rise-again-of-americas-first-celebritya-woman-who-loved-other-women-180981051/

America's First Celebrity Charlotte Cushman - at the Smithsonian, featuring input from Prof. Lisa Merrill

#Celebrity #CharlotteCushman #LGBTI #LisaMerrill #Theatre #Costume #Smithsonian