Actress.  Born in St. Petersburg,  Russia to French parents,  Croizette was raised in Paris and debuted at the Comedie-Francaise in 1868,  where she was one of the company’s reigning divas for a dozen years.  For a time she was considered a fierce rival of Sarah Bernhardt but the latter denied this in her autobiography,  claiming they got along just fine.  Her biggest hits were as Blanche in “Le Sphinx” (1873) and as Suzanne in “The Marriage of Figaro” (1873),  both co-starring Bernhardt.  A weight problem had a dampening effect on Croizette’s later career.  She retired in 1882 and married a wealthy banker. (bio by: Bobb Edwards)