Yvette Chauviré

Yvette Chauviré (22 April 1917 – 19 October 2016) was a French prima ballerina and actress who was born in Paris. Her dancing career was from 1937 to 1972.

She was the étoile of the Paris Opera Ballet, and later its director. She was the holder of the Légion d'Honneur. She is often described as having been France's greatest ballerina, and was the coach of prima ballerinas Sylvie Guillem and Marie-Claude Pietragalla. Chauviré often danced with Rudolph Nureyev, especially when he defected from the Soviet Union to Paris. He described her as a "legend". She attended his funeral with fellow French dancer Leslie Caron.