Ballet icon a big hit in Hollywood
THE SINGER Peter Sarstedt immortalised her in the 1969 classic Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)? but most fans of the song had no idea he was referring to the French born ballerina and actress, Zizi Jeanmaire.
Even the line “You talk like Marlene Dietrich, and you dance like Zizi Jeanmaire” was lost on many, even though a decade earlier she had appeared in the Hollywood blockbuster Anything Goes with Bing Crosby and Donald O’Connor.
Although ballet was her first love, she developed into a brilliant all-round dancer, singer and actress on stage or in front of movie cameras and was adored by British audiences in her heyday.
Born in Paris, Renée Marcelle Jeanmaire, her road to stardom began at the age of nine when her Swiss parents, businessman Marcel and Olga, signed her up to the ballet school of the Paris Opera.
From an early age she learned the fusion of music and dance, joining the company fully from the age of 16. A classmate was her future husband Roland Petit, who would become her choreographer with the golden touch with his risqué troupe, Les Ballets de Paris.
London audiences were wowed by a performance of Carmen in 1949 when Jeanmaire dazzled, even though she was deeply hurt by her husband’s affair with Margot Fonteyn.
Describing her unique gamine look, Zizi, as she liked to call herself, said: “My true personality was never uncovered until Roland took a pair of scissors and cut off my hair. I wore it for Carmen and I have kept it short ever since.”
She went on to conquer Broadway with the musical The Girl In Pink Tights in 1954, which allowed her to express her triple talents, singing, dancing and acting.
Sam Goldywn introduced her to Hollywood in 1952 with the musical epic Hans Christian Andersen, starring alongside
Danny Kaye and Farley Granger. With only a smattering of English she burst into tears on set. But canny director Charles Vidor found a way around her nerves by calling for a rehearsal and then shooting live.
The musical went on to become a massive box office hit with
audiences explaining that they particularly enjoyed a ballet dancing scene choreographed by her husband.
Wearing Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Dior designed outfits, she also became something of a fashion icon long before the phrase was even coined.