Dhélia, France

(1894-1964)

   Actress. Born Franceline Benoît, France Dhélia was one of the great stars of the silent screen. She started her film career under the stage name Mado Floréal, but later changed to France Dhélia. She made her screen debut in Camille de Morlhon's L'Ambitieuse (1912) under the name Floréal, and went on to make several other silent film appearances in films such as Georges Denola's Joséphine vendue par ses soeurs (1913), de Morlhon's Coeur de Gavroche (1916), and René Le Somptier's Épave de l'amour (1916). Dhélia appeared for the first time as Dhélia in Charles Burget and Le Somptier's Sultane de l'amour (1918). She went on to do several other Le Somptier films including La Croisade (1920), La Montée vers l'acropole (1920), and La Bête traquée (1922), which Le Somptier codirected with Michel Carré. Other silent films in which Dhélia played include Germaine Dulac's Malencontre (1920), Jacques de Baroncelli's Nène (1923), Pierre Colombier's Petit hôtel à louer (1923), and Jean Epstein's Sa tête (1929).

   Dhélia made a number of films, both silent and sound, with director Gaston Roudès, including LesRantzau (1923), L'Ombre du bonheur (1924), L'Éveil (1924), La Douleur (1925), Le Prince Zilah (1926), Le Chemin de la gloire (1926), La Maison au soleil (1928), L'Ami de Pierre (1928), Un coup de mistral (1933), Roger la Honte (1933), L'Assomoir (1935), and Une main a frappé (1939). Apart from her roles in Roudès's films, she had one other speaking role, in Marc Didier's Le Billet de mille (1935). She disappeared from the screen after 1935.