French actress
Orane Demazis (4 September 1894 – 25 December 1991) was a French actress.
Biography.
Born Henriette Marie Louise Burgart in Oran, French Algeria, in a family of Alsatian origin, Demazis entered the Paris Conservatoire National Supérieur d'Art Dramatique in 1919. She formed her stage name after her birthplace of Oran and the name of Mazis, another nearby town. Upon graduating in 1922, she joined the Théâtre de l'Atelier cast directed by Charles Dullin. Between 1922 and 1926, she starred in "Carmosine" by Alfred de Musset, "L'Occasion" by Prosper Mérimée, "Chacun sa vérité" by Pirandello, "Petite Lumière et l'Ourse" and "Huon de Bordeaux" by Alexandre Arnoux, "Voulez-vous jouer avec moâ" by Marcel Achard.
Her encounter with Marcel Pagnol in 1923 marked a turning point in her career, he created some of her most famous roles and in 1933 they had a son, . In 1926, he hired her to act in his play "Jazz" before creating for her the role of Fanny in "Marius" (1929) then Fanny (1931), and "Caesar" (1936).