Magdeleine Marie Catherine Elisabeth Ozeray was born in
Bouillon-sur-Semois, Belgium, to Camille Ozeray (1855–1938), a lawyer and Liberal member of parliament for the province of Luxembourg, and his wife, Marie Deymann. She studied at the
Royal Conservatory of Brussels where she won first prize for comedy. At twenty-seven she joined the theater company of
Louis Jouvet where she played the role of Helen in
The Trojan War Will Not Take Place by
Jean Giraudoux at the
Théâtre de l'Athénée. In 1939, she appeared opposite Jouvet in the film
The End of the Day produced by
Julien Duvivier, in the role of young Jeannette. She plays with such delicate grace characteristic, both fragile and fierce, she had already filled the role of Rosalie in the film Victor Trivas 1933, in the streets. In April 1939, Jean Giraudoux's play
Ondine opened in Paris with Ozeray in the title role. In 2008, in celebration of the centenary of Ozeray's birth, Belgian journalist
Dominique Zachary devoted an entire book, now the standard reference work, tracing the life and career of this celebrated actress. ==Death==