Actress. One of the most celebrated performers of the 18th Century, she is credited with introducing a more natural acting style to the French stage. The daughter of an impoverished hatmaker, she was born Adrienne Couvreur in Damery, near Reims, France. She first appeared onstage at 15 in Lille and spent ten years as a leading lady in the provinces, acquiring a considerable reputation. In 1717 she made her sensational Paris debut in "Electre" at the Comedie Francaise and for the rest of her life was that company's reigning superstar, specializing in tragedies by Corneille, Moliere, and Crebillon. Her repertory eventually comprised over 100 roles and some two dozen dramas were written for her. An intuitive, self-taught artist, aided by her soulful-eyed beauty, Lecouvreur broke from the stilted mannerisms of French classical theatre and played with an emotional conviction that often reduced audiences to tears; her heartfelt approach influenced generations of French actors. Although she never left her country, her fame spread beyond its borders and her Paris salon became a mandatory stop for Europe's upper crust. From 1721 she was the mistress of Maurice de Saxe, the future Marshal of France whose political ambitions she helped finance, and she also enjoyed a close (and not entirely platonic) friendship with the author Voltaire. She was performing in one of his plays when she suddenly fell ill and died four days later. Rumors that she was poisoned by a rival are probably false but are an inseperable part of her legend. Since Lecouvreur failed to renounce her profession on her deathbed - the theatre was considered unholy by the French Catholic Church - she was denied religious rites and buried in a ditch near the banks of the Seine. Voltaire wrote a bitter poem about this and later mentioned it in his novel "Candide". (When told of the actress's shameful burial, Candide remarks, "That was very impolite"). During the French Revolution, the Theatre de la Republique petitioned the government to search for Lecouvreur's grave so a memorial could be placed there, but no action was taken and the location remains unknown. She is the subject of a play by Scribe and Legouve (1849), Cilea's famous opera "Adriana Lecouvreur" (1902), and several films, including a now-lost 1913 silent starring Sarah Bernhardt.