Adrienne D'Ambricourt

Adrienne D'Ambricourt, born Adrienne Dumontier on 2 June 1878 in Paris, France, was a French-American actress whose career spanned stage, silent film, sound film, and television. She died on 6 December 1957 in Hollywood, following a fatal heart attack while driving.

Before emigrating to the United States after World War I, D'Ambricourt had established herself as a stage actress in France, holding membership in the Comédie-Française and performing at the Théâtre Sarah-Bernhardt. Her American debut came in 1922 on Broadway, where she took on the role of Baroness Mazulier in The French Doll, a Gershwin musical comedy in which the part ranked among the principal roles.

D'Ambricourt transitioned to film in 1924 with the silent picture The Humming Bird, in which she appeared alongside Gloria Swanson as a member of a gang of thieves who become resistance fighters during World War I. As the film industry shifted to sound, she found a particular niche in French-language versions of American productions, a common practice before dubbing became standard. Among these were Quand on est belle, the French version of The Easiest Way, released in 1931; L'énigmatique Mr. Parkes, the French counterpart to Slightly Scarlet from 1930; and Nuit d'Espagne, the French adaptation of Transgression, also from 1931.

Over the course of her film career, D'Ambricourt appeared in more than 70 pictures, among them Casablanca, San Francisco, and To Have and Have Not. Her work in film continued until approximately 1947, after which her screen appearances became less frequent. Her final film role was the wardrobe woman in George Cukor's Les Girls, which starred Gene Kelly and Mitzi Gaynor. During the 1950s she worked in television, appearing in several series and remaining active until her death. D'Ambricourt had a son, Jean Dumontier, who also pursued an acting career.