Née Rosine Bernard. She dominated the stage of her day, frequently performing at the Comédie Française. Her most famous roles were as Cordelia in King Lear, Racine's Phèdre, Dona Sol in Hugo's Hernani, and in the male roles of Hamlet, and of the Napoleon's son in Rostand's L'Aiglon.

She was called by Oscar Wilde "the divine Sarah", in her role as Marguérite in La Dame aux Camélias (1881). She was a huge success in France, and played to rapt audiences in England and in America.