Jászai, Mari

Born Feb. 24, 1850, in Ászár; died Oct. 5, 1926, in Budapest. Hungarian actress.

Jászai began her stage career in 1867. Her appearance in 1872 as Gertrud in Katona’s Bánk Bán established her as one of Hungary’s most outstanding tragic actresses. She became famous for her interpretations of Shakespearean roles. She appeared in the National Theater and the Vígszínház, where she played the title roles in Racine’s Phèdre and Schiller’s Mary Stuart and Éva in Madách’s The Tragedy of Man.

Jászai, a progressive artist closely linked with the realistic school, left the National Theater because of the naturalistic style firmly established there. After leaving the theater, she gave readings of the poems of S. Petőfi and did public work.