Mathilde Kschessinska

Mathilde Kschessinska
Princess Romanovskaya-Krasinskaya
Kschessinska costumed for the title role in Petipa's La Camargo. St. Petersburg, c. 1902
Born(1872-08-31)31 August 1872
Ligovo, Petergof, Russian Empire
Died6 December 1971(1971-12-06) (aged 99)
Paris, France
Burial
Spouse
(m. 1921; died 1956)
IssuePrince Vladimir Romanovsky-Krasinsky
HouseHolstein-Gottorp-Romanov (by marriage)
FatherFeliks Krzesiński
ReligionRussian Orthodox (previously Catholic)
OccupationPrima ballerina

Mathilde-Marie Feliksovna Kschessinska (31 August [O.S. 19 August] 1872 – 6 December 1971), also known as Princess Romanovskaya-Krasinskaya upon her marriage, was a Polish-Russian ballerina from the noble Krzesiński family. Her father, Felix Kschessinsky, her brother and sister danced in Saint Petersburg. She was a mistress of the future Emperor Nicholas II of Russia before his marriage, and later the wife of his cousin Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich of Russia. She was known in the West as Mathilde Kschessinska or Matilda Kshesinskaya.