Sarah Bernhardt was born in Paris in 1844. After a successful acting career in France she came to London in 1876 where she quickly established herself as the leading actress of the day. In 1892 she asked Oscar Wilde to write her a play. The result was Salome but while in rehearsal the Lord Chamberlain had the play banned. In 1899 she founded the Theatre Sarah Bernhardt in Paris. Although she had a leg amputated in 1915, Sarah Bernhardt continued to appear on the stage until her death in 1923.