Marie Bell

Marie Bell, born Marie-Jeanne Bellon-Downey on 23 December 1900 in Bègles, near Bordeaux, France, was a French tragedian, comic actor, and stage director. Her father was Irish, and she spent her childhood divided between Bordeaux and England. She died on 14 August 1985 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France, and was buried alongside her husband, actor Jean Chevrier, at the Monaco Cemetery.

Bell built her reputation as a classical stage actress, though her work also extended into avant-garde theatre, including productions associated with Jean Genet. Among her most celebrated stage roles was Phèdre, a performance that drew wide recognition. In 1962 she became director of the Théâtre du Gymnase in Paris, an institution that has since been renamed in her honor. Her Broadway appearances came in 1963, when she performed in both Phèdre and Bérénice.

During the German Occupation of France from 1940 to 1944, Bell served in the French Resistance as one of nine directors of the Front national du théâtre. In recognition of her wartime service, President Charles de Gaulle awarded her the decoration of the Légion d'honneur.

Bell also maintained a substantial film career spanning several decades. Her screen work included Le Grand Jeu, directed by Jacques Feyder in 1934; Un carnet de bal, directed by Julien Duvivier in 1937; Le colonel Chabert, directed by René Le Hénaff in 1943; and two films directed by Luchino Visconti, Il gattopardo in 1963 and Vaghe stelle dell'Orsa in 1965. She reprised her signature stage role on film in Pierre Jourdan's Phèdre in 1968.