227 years after her death, Marie-Antoinette continues to fascinate. Flirting with pop-icon status, she is the star of an exhibition at the Paris Conciergerie and is by far the most famous Queen of France. Her intriguing and romantic persona has made her into a cinematic icon. Take this opportunity to look back at nine actresses who put on the costume of Madame Veto - the object of all fantasies - on the silver screen.
Lise Delamare in 'La Marseillaise' (1938)
Lise Delamare's portrayal of the character was one of the first representations of Marie-Antoinette in cinema, under the direction of Jean Renoir. Appointed an Honorary Member of the Comédie-Française in January 1934, the French actress played one of her greatest roles as the Queen of France in La Marseillaise, released in 1938. The historical feature film focuses on the decline of Marie-Antoinette's reign, at a time when the Bastille was falling under the control of the Revolution. The film follows a brave group of people from Marseille, who were carried away by the revolutionary ideas that were born in Paris and gradually spread throughout France. After "La vie est à nous", Jean Renoir devoted a new film to the Popular Front by mirroring the French Revolution, an epoch that was considered more popular, in terms of attracting audiences. Lise Delamare was spectacular as a dignified and moving Marie-Antoinette, and she later became accustomed to playing rulers on screen, such as Marie de Médicis in André Hunebelle's Le Capitan (1960) and Anne of Austria in Pierre Bost's Le Château perdu (1973).
Norma Shearer in 'Marie-Antoinette' (1938)
The life of Marie Antoinette sparks fascination across the Atlantic as much as in France. In 1938, W. S. Van Dyke made a film based on the tumultuous relationship between Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI, while also recalling the Queen's passionate relationship with Count Fersen. Shearer has played many heroines on Hollywood's silent screen, and the Canadian actress embodied a sensual, authoritative Marie-Antoinette in this romantic adaptation of the Monarch's life. The film earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in 1939, which was her sixth nomination throughout her career.
Lana Marconi in 'Royal Affairs in Versailles' (1954)
In 1954, Sacha Guitry daringly decided to tell the story of the Palace of Versailles in light of the significant events and illustrious characters who walked its royal halls. From Henri IV to Louis XIV, whom the director chose to play himself in his older years, as well as Louis XVI, this film features the greatest monarchs and a number of narratives that shaped the legendary Palace of Versailles. To play Marie-Antoinette, Sacha Guitry chose his wife Lana Marconi, a French actress of Romanian origin, whom he met through the actress and their mutual friend Arletty. Exhilarated by the success of the film, Sacha Guitry made a film the year after, with a similar format, but based on the history of Paris. If Paris Were Told to Us came out in 1956, and his fifth and last wife, Lana Marconi, played the Queen again.
Michèle Morgan in 'Marie Antoinette Queen of France' (1956)
Michèle Morgan is beauty and grace, and she lends her charisma and cinematic magnetism to the character of Marie-Antoinette in Jean Delannoy's 1956 film. Based on the last years of the Queen, between 1789 and 1793, the film demonstrates her dignity and rebellion at the time of the Revolution which tormented the capital as much as her heart. Marie-Antoinette was torn between her loyalty to Louis XVI and her passion for De Fersen. Jean Delannoy played the sensitivity card to depict the character of a Queen who is both vulnerable and sensual, whom Michèle Morgan embodied with a real sense of fervor.
Ute Lemper in 'L'Autrichienne' (1989)
Pierre Granier-Deferre's film looks back on the Queen's last days, from her trial where she was accused of treason and theft, up to her execution on October 16, 1793 at Place de la Révolution in the heart of Paris. Four days of terror were brought to the silver screen with the poignant performance of the German star Ute Lemper, who rendered Marie-Antoinette, the highly influential Queen of France, into the Austrian martyred woman, a tragic heroine.
Jane Seymour in 'La Révolution française' (1989)
Recounting the entire French Revolution in cinema was the daunting challenge of Robert Enrico and Richard T. Heffron, each of whom created created a historical masterpiece for the bicentenary celebrations of the French Revolution. From the first attacks in Paris to the imprisonment of the Royal Family, and the execution of Robespierre, La Révolution française mastered its subject, despite some dead ends, by portraying the greatest moments of this highly complex time. Marie-Antoinette was played by Jane Seymour, who later rose to international fame through her performance in the popular series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.
Kirsten Dunst in 'Marie-Antoinette' (2006)
It was Sofia Coppola who elevated Marie-Antoinette to pop culture icon status. The director chose to employ the youthful features of Kirsten Dunst, whom she directed in Virgin Suicides (1999), to embody an impetuous and free Queen who was more modern than ever, and Coppola didn't hesitate to use anachronisms. The soundtrack features pop songs, while on the costume side, pastel blue converses are present, alongside silk Manolo Blahnik pumps, not to mention the sleeves of the airy dresses being shortened. At the beginning of her reign, Sofia Coppola's Marie-Antoinette delighted in the joys of Versailles, creating and defying fashion trends, and rebelling against the rigid rules of the Court. She collects flamboyant hats, stuffs herself with rose-flavored macarons, and falls into the arms of her lover, Count Fersen. Inspired by Antonia Fraser's biography Marie Antoinette: The Journey, released in 2001, Sofia Coppola portrayed the non-conformist, charismatic heroine.
Diane Kruger in Farewell, My Queen (2012)
Six years after Kirsten Dunst, Diane Kruger lent her beauty and talent to the iconic role of Marie-Antoinette in Benoît Jacquot's Farewell, My Queen. Adapted from the eponymous novel by Chantal Thomas, Diane Kruger, Léa Seydoux, and Virginie Ledoyen all star in the film, and their trio questions the complex links between the Queen, her friend Madame de Polignac and Sidonie Laborde, her young servant who reads to her, during the conquest of Bastille which pushes the Court to leave the golden gates of Versailles. Benoît Jacquot wanted to shoot the film in the Palace of Versailles, which he considered to be a character in its own right.
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Maëlia Gentil in 'One Nation, One King' (2018)
The population screamed as Versailles quaked in terror. 1789 marked the uprising of the French, famished, and exhausted by a blind, self-serving court. The people and their king accurately described the decisive period for the country through multiple portraits of men and women, united for the same cause: to make the very young National Assembly a breeding ground for progressive ideas. Adèle Haenel, Gaspard Ulliel, Izia Higelin, Louis Garrel, Laurent Lafitte and Céline Sallette all-star in this period-drama film that has an incredibly and unabashedly modern energy. Maëlia Gentil is immensely disturbing, in the best way, as she takes on the role of Marie-Antoinette.
Translated by Anushka Shah
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Marie-Antoinette is the star of a new exhibition at the Conciergerie in Paris
