{{Short description|Belgian actress (1892–1976)}} {{Infobox person | name = Jane Marnac | image = Jane Marnac, by Reutlinger.jpg | image_size = | caption = Jane Marnac | birth_name = Jane Fernande Mayer | birth_date = 8 February 1892 | birth_place = Brussels | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1976|12|02|1892|02|08}} | death_place = 16th arrondissement of Paris | other_names = Jeanne Marnac, Jane Trevor | occupation = Actress | years_active = 1912 - 1938 | spouse = | signature = Signature Jane Marnac.png }} '''Jane Marnac''', real name '''Jane Fernande Mayer''', (8 February 1892 – 2 December 1976), also seen as '''Jeanne Marnac''', was a Belgian stage and film actress.
== Career == Marnac played hundreds of parts on stage, and sang in operettas including ''Au temps des valses'' by Noël Coward in 1930 at the Apollo.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |date=February 1933 |title=An Errant Coward |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z5tXAAAAMAAJ&dq=Jane+Marnac&pg=RA1-PA158 |journal=Hearst's International |volume=94 |pages=158}}</ref> "Mlle. Marnac excels in the role of those heroines who, beginning life in the first act amid humble surroundings, manage to appear before the end of the last wreathed in pearls", ''Vanity Fair'' noted in 1922.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=September 1922 |title=Mlle. Jane Marnac |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UsE-AQAAMAAJ&dq=Jane%20Marnac&pg=RA11-PA57 |magazine=Vanity Fair |volume=19 |pages=57}}</ref>
Marnac was considered a stylish stage beauty,<ref>{{Cite journal |date=24 August 1910 |title=Dainties from France and Russia--Piquant and Sweet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7EkxAQAAMAAJ&dq=Jane+Marnac&pg=RA2-PA224 |journal=The Sketch |volume=71 |pages=8}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=de Linares |first=Antonio G. |date=16 November 1923 |title=La escuela de los empresarios, ó el abrigo de Jane Marnac |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kQkwaIlK4L0C&dq=Jane%20Marnac&pg=PP372 |journal=Nuevo Mundo |volume=30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Robert Forrest |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vuMAAAAAMAAJ&dq=Jane+Marnac&pg=PA56 |title=Paris on Parade |date=1925 |publisher=Bobbs-Merrill Company |pages=56 |language=en}}</ref> with "the wonderful voice and the equally wonderful eyes."<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |date=20 August 1919 |title=Mlle. Jane Marnac |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NRyab__TL8kC&dq=Jane%20Marnac&pg=RA2-PA234 |journal=Tatler |volume=73 |pages=234}}</ref> She was "said to possess the prettiest legs in all Paris."<ref>{{Cite journal |date=3 February 1919 |title=Priscilla in Paris: Mlle. Jane Marnac |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0QxwJZQfMr8C&dq=Jane+Marnac&pg=RA3-PA152 |journal=The Tatler |volume=71 |pages=152}}</ref> Her gowns and hats were described in fashion magazines.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=August 1920 |title=The Paris Stage: Personalities of the New Plays and Revues |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ok0tAQAAMAAJ&dq=Jeanne+Marnac&pg=RA2-PA124 |journal=La France |volume=4 |issue=11 |pages=124}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=14 July 1909 |title=Simply Pleasing: Mlle. Jeanne Marnac |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o4E4AQAAMAAJ&dq=Jeanne+Marnac&pg=RA1-PA8 |journal=The Sketch |volume=67 |pages=8}}</ref> Her image was printed on postcards, posters, and other souvenirs.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Aubenas |first1=Sylvie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W4rpmVb2ZrkC&dq=Jane+Marnac&pg=PA195 |title=Elegance: The Seeberger Brothers and the Birth of Fashion Photography |last2=Chardin |first2=Virginie |last3=Demange |first3=Xavier |date=2007 |publisher=Chronicle Books |isbn=978-0-8118-5942-4 |pages=195 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Merrill |first=Jane |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5tt8DwAAQBAJ&dq=Jane+Marnac&pg=PA180 |title=The Showgirl Costume: An Illustrated History |date=2018 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-3433-3 |pages=180 |language=en}}</ref> Her regimen for maintaining her complexion and figure was reported to be ice, rest, and exercise.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Muir |first=Hugh |date=31 January 1932 |title=Her Beauty Secret is Just Ice |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/sunday-dispatch-her-beauty-secret-is-jus/169489044/ |access-date=3 April 2025 |work=Sunday Dispatch |pages=15 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
Jane Marnac appeared in films, including ''The Darling of Paris'' with Jean Gabin,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cameron |first=Kate |date=30 December 1932 |title='Paris-Beguin', French Musical, Runs Too Long |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-paris-beguin-french-musica/169489410/ |access-date=3 April 2025 |work=Daily News |pages=71 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> and made musical recordings for the Columbia label in 1930.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Snelson |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8gTEEAAAQBAJ&dq=Jane+Marnac&pg=PA31 |title=Reviewing the Situation: The British Musical from Noël Coward to Lionel Bart |date=2023 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-350-27961-2 |pages=31 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Jane Marnac |url=https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/mastertalent/detail/362977/Marnac_Jane |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=Discography of American Historical Recordings |archive-date=2025-03-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250331071628/https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/mastertalent/detail/362977/Marnac_Jane |url-status=live }}</ref> Josephine Baker performed a parasol dance imitating Marnac's appearance in Somerset Maugham's ''Rain''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Udall |first=Sharyn R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DYuZwHTkIjgC&dq=Jane+Marnac&pg=PA85 |title=Dance and American Art: A Long Embrace |date=2012 |publisher=University of Wisconsin Pres |isbn=978-0-299-28803-7 |pages=85 |language=en}}</ref> Marnac and her husband owned racehorses, and ran a production company together.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |date=25 September 1929 |title=French Actress in 'Bitter Sweet' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-standard-french-actress-in-bitt/169489596/ |access-date=3 April 2025 |work=Evening Standard |pages=6 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
== Personal life == In 1927,<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 May 1927 |title=Major Keith Trevor Weds Paris Actress; Englishman, Well Known in Racing Circles, Marries Mlle. Jane Marnac |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1927/05/26/104219574.html?pageNumber=17 |access-date=3 April 2025 |work=The New York Times |pages=17 |language=en |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Marnac married an English aviator, sportsman, and World War I veteran, Major Keith Trevor, as his second wife.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=4 September 1927 |title=Won the French Beauty by Losing His Bet |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-won-the-frenc/169488615/ |access-date=3 April 2025 |work=The San Francisco Examiner |pages=83 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> He became the chair of the British Chamber of Commerce in Paris, and he died in 1956.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |date=15 April 1958 |title=Widow Robbed of Gems |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-widow-robbed-of-gems/169489839/ |access-date=3 April 2025 |work=The Daily Telegraph |pages=16 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=10 December 1956 |title=Letter from Paris |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-letter-from-paris/169490092/ |access-date=3 April 2025 |work=The Daily Telegraph |pages=8 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She was the victim of a robbery in 1958, at her home in the Bois de Boulogne.<ref name=":4" /> She died in 1976, at the age of 84, in Paris.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jane Marnac (1892-1976) |url=https://data.bnf.fr/en/ark:/12148/cb14203543f |access-date=3 April 2025 |website=BnF Data |language=en |archive-date=22 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250222162543/https://data.bnf.fr/en/ark:/12148/cb14203543f |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Theatre == * ''Paris fin de règne'' de Rip, Théâtre des Capucines (1912) * ''Le Malade imaginaire'' by Molière, directed by André Antoine, théâtre Antoine (1912)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chothia |first=Jean |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eyqc_rpKB0IC&dq=Jane+Marnac&pg=PA160 |title=André Antoine |date=1991 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-25219-5 |pages=160 |language=en}}</ref> * ''Le Procureur Hallers'' by Louis Forest Henry de Gorsse after Paul Lindau, mise en scène Firmin Gémier, théâtre Antoine (1913) * ''La Fille de Figaro'' by Maurice Hennequin and Hugues Delorme, music Xavier Leroux, théâtre de l'Apollo (1914) * ''Monsieur chasse !'' by Georges Feydeau, théâtre de la Renaissance (1916) * ''All Right'' revue by Rip, théâtre Édouard VII (1916) * ''La Reine joyeuse'' (nouveau titre de ''La Reine s'amuse'') operetta by André Barde, music Charles Cuvillier, Apollo (1918)<ref name=":1" /> * ''L'École des cocottes'' by Paul Armont and Marcel Gerbidon, théâtre du Grand-Guignol (1918) * ''L'École des cocottes'' by Paul Armont and Marcel Gerbidon, théâtre Michel (1919) * ''La Chasse à l'homme'' by Maurice Donnay, théâtre des Variétés (1919) * ''La Belle Angevine'' by Maurice Donnay and André Rivoire, théâtre des Variétés (1922) * ''La Petite Chocolatière'' by Paul Gavault, théâtre des Variétés (1922) * ''Le Blanc et le noir'' by Sacha Guitry, théâtre des Variétés (1922) * ''L'École des cocottes'' by Paul Armont and Marcel Gerbidon, théâtre du Palais-Royal (1923) * ''Un jour de folie'' by André Birabeau, théâtre des Variétés (1923) * ''Manon, Fille Galante'', Théâtre de la Madeleine (1925)<ref>{{Cite journal |date=March 1925 |title=Jane Marnac |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=82AhAQAAMAAJ&dq=Jane%20Marnac&pg=RA7-PA61 |journal=Motion Picture Classic |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=61}}</ref> * ''Rain'', by Somerset Maugham, Théâtre de la Madeleine (1927)<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wolfram |first=Theodore |date=11 December 1926 |title=Paris |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mPWXg_NzsqkC&dq=Jane+Marnac&pg=RA6-PA47 |journal=The Billboard |volume=38 |pages=47}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Benstock |first=Shari |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lrlaBAAAQBAJ&dq=Jane+Marnac&pg=PT187 |title=Women of the Left Bank: Paris, 1900-1940 |date=2010-06-28 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0-292-78298-3 |language=en}}</ref> * ''La Revue de Marigny'' revue de Jean Le Seyeux and Saint-Granier, théâtre Marigny (1928) * ''Shanghaï'' by Charles Méré after John Colton, théâtre de l'Apollo (1929) * ''Dans la rue'' by Elmer Rice, adaptation Francis Carco, directed by Pierre Geoffroy, Apollo (1929) * ''Au temps des valses'' by Noël Coward, adaptation Saint-Granier, Apollo (1930)<ref name=":0" /> * ''Fragonard'' by Gabriel Pierné, Porte Saint-Martin (1934)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Traubner |first=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tkCTAgAAQBAJ&dq=Jane+Marnac&pg=PA299 |title=Operetta: A Theatrical History |date=2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-88783-4 |pages=299 |language=en}}</ref> * ''Femmes'' by Clare Boothe, adaptation Jacques Deval, directed by Jane Marnac, théâtre Pigalle (1938)
== Filmography == * ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' by Albert Capellani (1911, short) * ''La Goualeuse'' by Alexandre Deverennes (1914) * ''Le baromètre de la fidélité'' by Georges Monca (1915, short)<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Moules |first=Patrick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AErYDwAAQBAJ&dq=Jane+Marnac&pg=PA70 |title=The 9.5mm Vintage Film Encyclopaedia |date=2020 |publisher=Troubador Publishing Ltd |isbn=978-1-83859-269-1 |pages=70, 71 |language=en}}</ref> * ''Notre pauvre cœur'' by Louis Feuillade (1916) * ''Paris pendant la guerre'' by Henri Diamant-Berger (1916) * ''The Darling of Paris'' by Augusto Genina (1931)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hardy |first=Phil |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=agfHUakbj5kC&dq=Jane%20Marnac&pg=PA253 |title=The BFI Companion to Crime |date=1997 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-0-304-33215-1 |pages=253 |language=en}}</ref> * ''Le bal de petits lits blancs'' (1934)<ref name=":2" />
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == {{Commons}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0549406}} * A recording of the operetta ''Azore'' (1932) featuring Marnac, at Internet Archive * [https://recherche.smb.museum/detail/874686/jane-marnac-in-kleid-von-maison-dukes A photograph of Marnac from about 1914], in the collection of the State Museums of Berlin, Art Library {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marnac, Jane}} Category:Belgian stage actresses Category:Belgian film actresses Category:Belgian silent film actresses Category:20th-century Belgian actresses Category:Actresses from Brussels Category:1892 births Category:1976 deaths Category:Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery