Quinault family: History and Key Facts

The Quinault family were French actors, active in the first half of the 18th century.

Jean Quinault was the father of this family. He was born at Bourges around 1656 or 1658, and died before June 1728. Said to be the son of a doctor from Issoudun, he joined an acting company based in Rouen called the troupe du Dauphin in 1679 and again in 1681. In Amiens in 1686 he married Marie Saintelette, daughter of a baker from Verdun. In March 1694 he and his wife joined the troupe of Leopold, Duke of Lorraine; the following year he auditioned for the Comédie-Française and was accepted for a quarter-share position. Instead of remaining in Paris, however, he returned to Lorraine and headed the duke's troupe from 1695 to 1705. Typically of provincial actors at the time, he led an itinerant life; various documents place him in Boulogne-sur-Mer in 1697; in Metz in 1688, 1698 and 1701; in Verdun in 1693; in Strasbourg in 1699 and 1702, in Nancy in 1699; in Marseille in 1705; and in 1727 in the Electorate of the Palatinate. Jean Quinault is remembered chiefly for his children, almost all of whom learned their craft in their father's troupe and went on to become successful actors. For part of the early 18th century, they dominated the Paris theater.

Jean-Baptiste-Maurice Quinault, baptized 9 September 1687, died 3 September 1745 in Autry-le-Châtel, near Gien. He made his début at the Comédie-Française in May 1712 and was accepted into the troupe the next month. He played both tragic and comic roles, but was most praised for the latter. He retired from the stage in 1733, returned briefly in 1734, then retired to Autry where he spent the rest of his life.

Françoise Quinault, born probably in 1688 in Metz, died 22 December 1713 in Paris; also called Mlle Denesle. She made her début at the Comédie-Française in January 1708 and was accepted into the troupe later in the year. She was unhappily married to a would-be actor named Denesle, and in poor health; she died at the age of 25.

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