Cerny, Berthe (1868-1940)

Cerny, Berthe

ACTOR (FRANCE)

BORN 31 Jan 1868, Paris, 8e - DIED 27 Mar 1940, Paris
BIRTH NAME Choudens, Françoise Berthe Hélène Lucie de
GRAVE LOCATION Paris: Auteuil Cimetière, Rue Claude Lorrain, Auteuil (Division 09)

Berthe Cerny was only recognized by her mother when she was twelve years old and by her father when she was fifteen. She took acting lessons and in 1885 she won a first prize with "Les Trois Sultanes". In the same year she debuted at the Odéon theatre. On 23 September 1887 she gave birth to a son, Jacques Robert. The father is unknown. She left the Odéon theatre for the Théâtre Royal du Parc in Brussels in 1890. After her return to Paris in 1892 she appeared at various theatres. From her affair with Raoul William Johnston (1870-1915), the son of the merchant Nathaniel Johnston (1836-1914) from Bordeaux, she had another son in 1898, François (d.1936). Johnston gave her a nice house in Saint-Cloud.

In 1907 she met Aristide Briand, the Minister of Public Instruction, Arts and Culture. Jules Claretie refused to make her a sociétaire of the Comédie-Française, where she had debuted in 1906. She wanted to plead her case with Briand, but she started an affaire with him that lasted for nine years. After the First World War she received the golden medal of the Reconnaissance française. Her next affair was with the statesman Paul Reynaud (1878-1966). In 1931 she became a honorary member of the Comédie Française. She died in 1940 in Paris.

Images

The grave of Berthe Cerny at the Auteuil Cemetery, Paris.
Picture by Androom (04 Nov 2016)