Born in 1868 to a wealthy family in Marseille, Edmond Rostand married the poetess Rosemonde Gérard by whom he had two sons, Maurice and Jean, the famous biologist.

The first works by the playwright passed unnoticed. His poetic collection Musardises won him a certain audience but his dramatic production fell flat, apart from Romanesques.

Suddenly, in 1897, glory shone on him: Cyrano de Bergerac brought him an immediate and global reputation.

L’Aiglon, presented in 1900 and performed by Sarah Bernardt, was also a great success. In 1903, he was elected to the Académie Française and made commander of the Legion d'Honneur in 1910.

He left Rosemonde in 1915 for his last love, the actress Mary Marquet and died in 1918 at the age of 50 of the Spanish flu.