Prima Ballerina. She gained fame as a ballerina, but was also an actress, author, sculptor, and painter. Born Monique Tchemerzine, the daughter of an exiled Russian prince, she studied ballet with Blanche d'Alessandri, Preobrajenska and Clustine. With her porcelain skin and red hair, she started dancing at 16 and danced with the Ballets de Monte Carlo, where she was spotted by the well-known Ukrainian ballerina Serge Lifar. She made her Paris debut creating the role of Juliet in Lifar's "Romeo and Juliet" in 1942. In 1945 she was a principal dancer with Ballet des Champs-Elysees and performed in Paris concerts with her husband Edmond Audran, who was killed in an auto accident in 1951. She remarried in 1956. She created various roles in Lifar's ballets including: "Mephisto Waltz" in 1945, "A la memoire d'un heros" in 1946 and in "Le Martyre de Saint-Sebastian" in 1957. She appeared often with the Paris Opera, Bolshoi and Kirov as a guest performer. She acted in several films including the English-speaking film, "The Red Shoes," "Les Rendezvous" and "Tales of Hoffmann," for which she received an Academy Award in 1952. Later in life, she had roles in several made-for-television movies. As a painter, she had successful exhibitions of her art work, and one of her sculptures is exhibited at the European Parliament. She also wrote two novels on dance: "L'Amour au miroir" 1983 and "La Femme a l'envers" 1986. She was decorated with the "Officier, Legion d'honneur" in 1980.
Prima Ballerina. She gained fame as a ballerina, but was also an actress, author, sculptor, and painter. Born Monique Tchemerzine, the daughter of an exiled Russian prince, she studied ballet with Blanche d'Alessandri, Preobrajenska and Clustine. With her porcelain skin and red hair, she started dancing at 16 and danced with the Ballets de Monte Carlo, where she was spotted by the well-known Ukrainian ballerina Serge Lifar. She made her Paris debut creating the role of Juliet in Lifar's "Romeo and Juliet" in 1942. In 1945 she was a principal dancer with Ballet des Champs-Elysees and performed in Paris concerts with her husband Edmond Audran, who was killed in an auto accident in 1951. She remarried in 1956. She created various roles in Lifar's ballets including: "Mephisto Waltz" in 1945, "A la memoire d'un heros" in 1946 and in "Le Martyre de Saint-Sebastian" in 1957. She appeared often with the Paris Opera, Bolshoi and Kirov as a guest performer. She acted in several films including the English-speaking film, "The Red Shoes," "Les Rendezvous" and "Tales of Hoffmann," for which she received an Academy Award in 1952. Later in life, she had roles in several made-for-television movies. As a painter, she had successful exhibitions of her art work, and one of her sculptures is exhibited at the European Parliament. She also wrote two novels on dance: "L'Amour au miroir" 1983 and "La Femme a l'envers" 1986. She was decorated with the "Officier, Legion d'honneur" in 1980.
Bio by: Medora
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