Augustine Brohan
(1824-1893)

The illegitimate daughter of the actress Suzanne Brohan and Gouje (or Gouge), founder of La Mode, Augustine, like her younger sister Madeleine, followed her mother onto the stage. She was admitted to the Conservatoire when still very young, twice taking the second prize for comedy. She made her debut at the Comédie-Française as a soubrette on 19 May 1841, as Dorine in Tartuffe.

She was immediately admitted pensionnaire, and eighteen months later, unanimously elected sociétaire. She became a great favourite with the public, particularly in the plays of Molière and Marivaux. On her retirement from the stage in 1866, she made an unhappy marriage with Edmond David de Gheest (died 1885), secretary to the Belgian legation in Paris.