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Wikipedia's first sentence called it "french stage actress". Today it says "french stage actress who starred in some of the most popular french plays of the late 19th and early 20th centu". We saved the article's opening at 6 moments between 2005 and 2025, and every claim links the exact revision.

The opening as it read in 2005

Sarah Bernhardt (portrait by Nadar ) Sarah Bernhardt ( October 22 , 1844 – March 26 , 1923 ) was a French stage actress. She was born in Paris as Henriette Rosine Bernard , the eldest surviving illegitimate daughter of Judith van Hard, a Dutch Jewish courtesan known as "Youle." Her father was reportedly Edouard Bernard, a French lawyer, and she was educated in French Catholic convents. To support herself, she combined the career of an actress with that of a courtesan - at the time, the two were considered scandalous to a roughly equal degree. She was sponsored into the Conservatoire de Musique et Déclamation by the Duc de Morny in 1859 for theatrical training. Her stage career started in 1862 , largely in comic theatre and burlesque .¹ She made her fame on the stages of Europe in the 1870s , and was soon in demand all over Europe and in the United States .² She soon developed a reputation as a serious dramatic actress, earning the title, "The Divine Sarah"; arguably, she may have been the most famous actress of the 19th century . Although primarily a stage actress, Bernhardt made several cylinders and discs of famous dialogue from various productions. One of the earliest was a reading from Phèdre by Jean Racine , at Thomas Edison 's home on a visit to New York City in the 1880s . Multi-talented, she was involved with the visual arts as well as acting, painting and sculpting herself, as well as modelling for Antonio de La Gandara . She was also to publish a series of books and plays throughout her life. Her social life was as continuously active. She had an affair with a Belgian nobleman, Charles-Joseph-Eugene-Henri, Prince de Ligne, with whom she had her only child, the writer Maurice Bernhardt , in 1864 (he married a Polish princess, Maria Jablonowska, 1863-1914). Later lovers included several artists ( Gustave Doré and Georges Clarin ) and actors ( Mounet-Sully and Lou Tellegen ). She married Greek-born actor Aristides Damala (aka Jacques Damala ) in London in 1882 , but the marriage, which legally endured until Damala's death in 1889 at age 34, was quickly collapsed, largely due to the young actor's dependence on morphine. Sketch of Sarah Bernhardt Bernhardt was also one of the pioneer silent movie actresses, debuting as Hamlet in Le Duel d'Hamlet in 1900 . (Technically, this was not a silent film, as it had accompanying cylinders with dubbed dialogue.) She went on to star in eight motion pictures and two biographical films in all. The latter included Sarah Bernhardt à Belle-Isle ( 1912 ), a film about her daily life at home. Sarah Bernhardt was made a member of France's Legion of Honor in 1914. In 1915 , ten years after a serious injury, her right leg was amputated , confining her to a wheelchair for several months. Nonetheless, she continued her career, in spite of the need to use a wooden prosthetic limb . She died in the arms of her son Maurice. Sarah Bernhardt has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1751 Vine Street. Sarah Bernhardt in 1889 The actress La Berma, a fictional character in Marcel Proust 's In Search of Lost Time was inspired by Bernhardt.³

This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 15939940.

The opening as it stood in 2010 23 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear

Sarah Bernhardt (born circa October 23, 1844 – March 26, 1923) was a French stage and early film actress, and has been referred to as "the most famous actress the world has ever known". Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of Europe in the 1870s, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas . She developed a reputation as a serious dramatic actress, earning the nickname "The Divine Sarah." She was baptised in 1857, when she was about 12, but the record is missing. A birth date taken from a certificate of a baptism conducted at the age of 12 would not be reliable as a primary source, and could only be used to corroborate other evidence. (In The Art of High Drama , a Professor Ockman describes finding an "unidentified newspaper clipping" in the Bibliothèque de la Comédie Francaise in Paris, which included a copy of a baptismal certificate saying Bernhardt was born on 25 September 1844.) It has been claimed that "Bernhardt sometimes celebrated her birthday on 23 October", although there is no verification of this claim. Bernhardt’s 1907 autobiography Ma double vie ( My Double Life ) made no reference to her date of birth.

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 366600409.

The opening as it stood in 2015

Sarah Bernhardt ( ; c. 22/23 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage and early film actress . She was referred to as "the most famous actress the world has ever known". Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of France in the 1870s, at the beginning of the Belle Epoque period, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas. She developed a reputation as a serious dramatic actress, earning the nickname "The Divine Sarah". In her youth, Queen Marie of Romania used to dress like Bernhardt in court balls. She was baptised in 1857, when she was about 12, but the record is missing. A birth date taken from a certificate of a baptism conducted at the age of 12 would not be reliable as a primary source, and could only be used to corroborate other evidence. (In The Art of High Drama , a Professor Ockman describes finding an "unidentified newspaper clipping" in the Bibliothèque de la Comédie Française in Paris, which included a copy of a baptismal certificate saying Bernhardt was born on 25 September 1844.) It has been claimed that "Bernhardt sometimes celebrated her birthday on 23 October", although there is no verification of this claim. Bernhardt's 1907 autobiography Ma double vie ( My Double Life ) made no reference to her date of birth. Her own pronunciation, listen e.g. to on YouTube Gottlieb, Robert.

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 669047413.

The opening as it stood in 2020 9 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear

French stage actress (1844–1923) Sarah Bernhardt ( ; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard ; 22 or 23 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including La Dame Aux Camelias by Alexandre Dumas, fils ; Ruy Blas by Victor Hugo ; Fédora and La Tosca by Victorien Sardou ; and L'Aiglon by Edmond Rostand . She also played male roles, including Shakespeare's Hamlet . Rostand called her "the queen of the pose and the princess of the gesture", while Hugo praised her "golden voice". She made several theatrical tours around the world, and was one of the first prominent actresses to make sound recordings and to act in motion pictures. There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a template (see the help page ).

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 958205479.

The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023

French stage actress (1844–1923) This article is about the French stage actress. Sarah Bernhardt ( ; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard ; 22 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the more popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas fils , Ruy Blas by Victor Hugo , Fédora and La Tosca by Victorien Sardou , and L'Aiglon by Edmond Rostand . She also played male roles, including Shakespeare's Hamlet . Rostand called her "the queen of the pose and the princess of the gesture", and Hugo praised her "golden voice". She made several theatrical tours around the world, and she was one of the early prominent actresses to make sound recordings and to act in motion pictures. She is also linked with the success of artist Alphonse Mucha , whose work she helped to publicize. Mucha became one of the more sought-after artists of this period for his Art Nouveau style. There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a template (see the help page ).

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1178502257.

The opening as it stood in 2025

French stage actress (1844–1923) This article is about the French stage actress. Sarah Bernhardt ( French: [saʁa bɛʁnɑʁt] ; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard ; 22 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas fils , Ruy Blas by Victor Hugo , Fédora and La Tosca by Victorien Sardou , and L'Aiglon by Edmond Rostand . She played female and male roles, including Shakespeare's Hamlet . Rostand called her "the queen of the pose and the princess of the gesture", and Hugo praised her "golden voice". She made several theatrical tours worldwide and was one of the early prominent actresses to make sound recordings and act in motion pictures. She is also linked with the success of artist Alphonse Mucha , whose work she helped to publicize. Mucha became one of the more sought-after artists of this period for his Art Nouveau style. There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a template (see the help page ).

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1298118396. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.

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