Ludmilla Tchérina
{{Short description|French actress, ballerina and painter (1924–2004)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ludmilla Tchérina
| image = Ludmilla Tcherina 1955 Frankfurt airport (cropped).jpg
| caption = Tchérina in 1955
| birth_name = Monique Tchemerzine
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1924|10|10}}
| birth_place = Paris, France
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2004|03|21|1924|10|10}}
| death_place = Paris, France
| resting_place = Montmartre Cemetery
| occupation = {{hlist|Actress|Ballerina|Sculptor|Painter|Choreographer|Author}}
| years_active = 1946–1964
| spouse = {{plainlist|
- {{marriage|Edmond Audran|1946|1951|end=died}}
- {{marriage|Raymond Roi
|1953|1987|end=died}}
}}
}}
Ludmilla Tchérina (born Monique Tchemerzine; 10 October 1924 – 21 March 2004) was a French prima ballerina and actress.
Biography
She studied with Blanche d'Alessandri, Olga Preobrajenska and Clustine. She started dancing at 16 and danced with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, where she was spotted by Serge Lifar. She made her Paris debut creating the rôle of Juliet in his Romeo and Juliet in 1942, becoming the youngest prima ballerina in the history of dance. In 1945 she was a principal dancer with the Ballet des Champs-Élysées and performed in Paris concerts with her husband Edmond Audran. She created various rôles in Lifar's ballets including: 'Mephisto Waltz' in 1945, {{lang|fr|A la memoire d'un heros}} in 1946 and in {{lang|fr|Le Martyre de Saint-Sebastian}} in 1957. She appeared often with the Paris Opera, the Bolshoi Ballet and the Kirov Ballet as a guest performer.
Tchérina acted in several films including The Red Shoes, {{lang|fr|Les Rendezvous}}, The Tales of Hoffmann, Oh... Rosalinda!! and Luna de Miel. She also appeared in television. In the 1980s she turned to writing and published two novels under her own name, {{lang|fr|L'Amour au Miroir}} (1973) and {{lang|fr|La Femme a L'Envers}} (1986).
Tchérina had a lifelong passion for painting and exhibited in many major galleries. She also conceived and executed several monumental sculptures, including Europe à Coeur, chosen in 1991 by the EU to symbolise the union of Europe and now located at the European Parliament. In 1994 she created Europa Operanda, now installed at the French terminal of Eurotunnel.
Personal life
Edmond Audran, whom she married in 1946, died in a car accident in 1951. She married Raymond Roi in 1953. The marriage lasted until his death in 1987.
She was decorated with the Officier, Légion d'honneur in 1980.
Death
Tchérina died in 2004, aged 79, and is buried at the Montmartre Cemetery, Paris.
Filmography
| class="wikitable" | |||
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Un revenant | Karina | |
| 1948 | The Red Shoes | Irina Boronskaja | |
| 1949 | Fandango | Angélica | |
| 1950 | Here Is the Beauty | Mireille Oslava | |
| 1950 | La nuit s'achève | Danielle Chevalier | |
| 1951 | The Tales of Hoffmann | Giulietta | |
| 1951 | Clara de Montargis | Clara | |
| 1951 | Parsifal | Kundry | |
| 1952 | Grand Gala | Monique | |
| 1953 | Sins of Rome | Amitys | |
| 1954 | Mata Hari's Daughter | Elyne | |
| 1954 | Sign of the Pagan | Princess Pulcheria | |
| 1955 | Oh... Rosalinda!! | Rosalinda | |
| 1959 | Honeymoon | Anna | |
| 1962 | The Lovers of Teruel | Isa | |
| 1964 | Une ravissante idiote | ||
| 1969 | {{ill|Salomé (1969 film)|fr|Salomé (téléfilm)|lt=Salomé}} | Salomé |
External links
{{Commons}}
- {{IMDb name|name=Ludmilla Tchérina|id=0853481}}
- [http://www.powell-pressburger.org/Obits/Ludmilla/Independent.html Ludmilla Tcherina - Obituary from The Independent (UK)]
- [https://www.aenigma-images.com/2016/09/ludmilla-tcherina/ Ludmilla Tchérina] at [https://www.aenigma-images.com/ aenigma]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060513223710/http://www.tcherina.com/ tcherina.com] in French
- [https://www.panoramio.com/photo/4511173 Europe à Coeur (Strasbourg)]
{{ACArt}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tcherina, Ludmilla}}
Category:French film actresses
Category:French prima ballerinas
Category:Nobility from the Russian Empire
Category:French people of Circassian descent
Category:French people of Russian descent
Category:Burials at Montmartre Cemetery
Category:Officers of the Legion of Honour
Category:20th-century French actresses
Category:20th-century French sculptors
Category:20th-century French women artists
Category:20th-century French musicians