Gabrielle Colonna-Romano

Who was Gabrielle Colonna-Romano?

Gabrielle Colonna-Romano or Colanna Romano, born Gabrielle Dreyfus, was a French actress, famous as a tragedian, sociétaire of the Comédie-Française from 1913 to 1936, and as a student of Sarah Bernhardt. She appeared in several plays and poetry readings. She had an affair with Pierre Renoir, and modelled for several paintings by his father Auguste Renoir, notably Jeune femme à la rose. In England, she met and became friends with Marie Bell, on whose advice she decided to present herself to the Conservatoire.

She was the sixth and final wife of the millionaire press-magnate Alfred Edwards, and after his death married the actor Pierre Alcover. She and Alcover are buried together in the Rueil-Malmaison cemetery.

She gives her name to the "Prix Colonna-Romano de tragédie classique" at the Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique in Paris.