Augustine Figeac
(1823-1883)

Born Bathilde Augustine Figeac in 1823, she made her debut at the Théâtre de la Renaissance on 11 October 1839 in Revue et corrigée. Appearances at the Gymnase and the Bonne-Nouvelle followed, but she then retired to a convent. Her calling proved temporary and, following a further two years in Poland, she returned to the stage, momentarily at the Vaudeville (1849) before settling down at the Gymnase ‘où elle se fait remarquée par son air distingué, son sourire provocateur et sa suprème élégance.’

On 2 November 1855 Augustine Figeac made her Comédie Française debut as la marquise de Prie in Le gâteau des reines, but she failed to receive the favourable welcome she deserved. Contemporary biographies next list numerous productions in which she appeared during the late 1850s and early 1860s. On 1 July 1860 she was named a sociétaire.

She retired on 1 October 1865 and married Jules Jazulot, the founder and director of Printemps, the famous department store. Apparently the fire of 1881 at her husband’s establishment made a profound impression on her, from which she never fully recovered. She died at her townhouse on the rue d’Athènes on 23 April 1883.