Zizi Jeanmaire

Zizi Jeanmaire

born on 29/4/1924 in Paris, Île-de-France, France

died on 17/7/2020 in Tolochenaz, VD, Switzerland

Zizi Jeanmaire

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Zizi Jeanmaire

Zizi Jeanmaire (1963)
Born April 29 1924
Paris, France
Residence Geneva, Switzerland
Nationality French
Occupation Dancer, actress
Years active 1949-1982
Spouse(s) Roland Petit
(1954-2011); (his death)
Children 1

Zizi Jeanmaire (born 29 April 1924) is a French ballet dancer and widow of renowned dancer and choreographer Roland Petit. She became famous in the 1950s after playing the title role in the ballet Carmen, produced in London in 1949, and went on to appear in several Hollywood films.

Background

Born in Paris, France, as Renée Marcelle Jeanmaire, she met her future husband and long-time collaborator Roland Petit at the Paris Opera Ballet at the age of nine. She joined his company, Petit's ballets de Paris in 1949. In 1954, they married, and their successful shows put her on the road to stardom. This led to a brief stint in Hollywood (where she was credited simply as Jeanmaire), appearing in the musicals Hans Christian Andersen (1952) and Anything Goes (1956). After that, she concentrated on ballet, producing more than 60 shows with Petit. From the 1960s on, she also had a career in music with such hits as "Mon truc en plumes". [1]

Personal life

She and Petit had one daughter, Valentine Petit, a dancer and actress.[1][2][3]

She is mentioned in the lyrics of the song by Peter Sarstedt, Where Do You Go To My Lovely, in the first line "You talk like Marlene Dietrich, you dance like Zizi Jeanmaire / Your clothes are all made by Balmain and you've diamonds and pearls in your hair".

Filmography

  • Hans Christian Andersen (1952)
  • Anything Goes (1956)
  • Folies-Bergère (1956)
  • Too Many Lovers (1957)
  • Guinguette (1959)
  • Black Tights (1960)

Theater credits

  • The Girl in Pink Tights Broadway (1954)
  • Can-Can Broadway (1981)

References

External links

Bibliography

  • Zizi. Zizi Jeanmaire with Gérard Mannoni (2002), Paris: Assouline, 2002, 147 pages (French); ISBN 2-84323-389-5
This page was last modified 13.03.2014 08:52:04

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