Jeanne Roques, better known by her stage name Musidora, was a French actress, film director, and writer who left an indelible mark on the film industry of her era. Born into a family of artists, Musidora's father, Jacques Roques, was a composer, while her mother, Adèle Clémence Porche, was a painter. She began her acting career in her teenage years and made her film debut in 1914.
Musidora's screen persona was characterized by her heavily kohled dark eyes, sinister make-up, pale skin, and exotic wardrobes. Her characters were among the most popular femmes fatales of their time, and she became one of the most famous French actresses of the 1910s. Her collaborations with director Louis Feuillade, a pioneer in the development of the crime thriller genre, were particularly noteworthy.
In addition to her acting career, Musidora also found success as a film director and producer. She directed 10 films between the late 1910s and the early 1920s, although only two of them have survived to this day. Two of her films were adaptations of the novels of Colette, a personal friend and frequent collaborator.
Musidora's acting career came to an end by 1926, but she continued to work as a writer and film producer until the early 1950s. In her later years, she worked in the ticket booth of the Cinémathèque Française, a testament to her enduring passion for the film industry. Musidora passed away in Paris in 1957 and was buried in the Cimetière de Bois-le-Roi.
