PARIS: French dancer and singer Zizi Jeanmaire, an iconic cabaret showgirl whose grace and glamour was celebrated on stage and in film the world over, died Friday in Switzerland aged 96, her family told AFP.
"My mother passed away peacefully last night at her home in Tolechenaz," a town bordering Lake Geneva, her daughter Valentine Petit told AFP by telephone. Jeanmaire starred in ballets, cabarets, musicals and film, mixing styles but never compromising on the rigour of her classic training.
Many of her roles were created by her husband Roland Petit, the renowned choreographer who died in 2011. It was her leading performance in Petit's modern interpretation of "Carmen" in 1949, which featured the short-cropped hairstyle that became her trademark feature, that launched her into the spotlight.
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