Wanda de Boncza

Wanda de Boncza (8 March 1872 – 15 August 1902) was a French actress, born Wanda-Marie-Émilie Rutkowska.

Wanda-Marie-Émilie Rutkowska was born in Paris, the daughter of Polish-Jewish immigrants. ^[1] She studied comedy at the Conservatoire de Paris with Gustave Worms.^[2][3]

Wanda de Boncza was considered a stage beauty in Paris,^[4] acting first at the Odéon, and then at the Comédie-Française. One English-language critic in 1901 described her stage presence as "little and dark, Parisian and perverse, she whose eyes are enigmas ... beautiful in her own odd way."^[5] Her stage appearances included roles in Fiancée (1894),^[6] La Barynia (1894),^[1] On ne badine pas avec l'amour (1896),^[7] Struensée (1898), La Conscience de l'enfant (1899), Alkestis (1900), and Le Marquis de Priola (1902).^[8]

Wanda de Boncza died in Paris in 1902, aged 30 years,^[9] from appendicitis^[10][11] and an attempted surgical intervention.^[1][8] Some reports also mentioned that morphine addiction may have contributed to her early death.^[12] A few months after her death,^[13] there was an auction of her jewelry (especially pearls), gowns, and other possessions, yielding over a million francs, more than enough to pay off her gambling and other debts.^{[2][14][15][16]}

• A cigarette card featuring Wanda de Boncza, from the New York Public Library Digital Collections.
• A photograph of Wanda de Boncza in the collection of the Musée d'Orsay, Paris.