Tsilla Chelton (21 June 1919 – 15 July 2012) was a French actress of theatre and film, famous for playing the main role in 1990 film Tatie Danielle, in which she was nominated for a César Awards and as an elderly Dominican in Sister Smile.
Tsilla Schilton was born in Jerusalem but spent her childhood in Belgium. The daughter of French parents of Jewish heritage, she lost her mother at the age of 6, and followed her father to Antwerp. She moved to Switzerland during World War II before settling in Paris. Married to decorator Jacques Noël, she had 4 children.
Attracted by theatre, she started acting in Marcel Marceau's troupe.
Her career was mainly in theatre, where she acted in the eleven works of Eugène Ionesco, earning a Molière Award for best comedian in Ionesco's The Chairs. She premiered the plays of Bertold Brecht in France, with Michel Serrault, Michel Piccoli and Laurent Terzieff.
On the big screen, she became famous at 71 for her work in the 1990 Étienne Chatiliez film Tatie Danielle, where she played the title role as a hateful and cantankerous old lady. She taught comedy from 1964 onwards and was the teacher of the actors of the Splendid troupe, including Gérard Jugnot, Michel Blanc, and Thierry Lhermitte.
Chelton died at 93 in Brussels, Belgium.
Her ashes were buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris.
1952 : The underground lovers by Jean Tardieu, directed by Sylvain Dhomme, Théâtre Lancry
1952 : The Chairs by Eugène Ionesco, directed by Sylvain Dhomme, Théâtre Lancry
1953 : Victimes du devoir by Eugène Ionesco, directed by Jacques Mauclair, Théâtre du Quartier latin, Théâtre des Célestins
1953 : La Femme du condamné by Henri Monnier, Théâtre des Célestins
1954 : Man Equals Man by Bertolt Brecht, directed by Jean-Marie Serreau, Théâtre des Célestins, Théâtre de l'Œuvre
1955 : Jacques ou la soumission by Eugène Ionesco, directed by Robert Postec, Théâtre de la Huchette
1955 : Le Tableau by Eugène Ionesco, directed by Robert Postec, Théâtre de la Huchette
1956 : L'Impromptu de l'Alma by Eugène Ionesco, directed by Maurice Jacquemont, Studio des Champs-Élysées
1956 : Les Chaises by Eugène Ionesco, directed by Jacques Mauclair, Studio des Champs-Élysées, Théâtre des Célestins
1957 : A Marriage Proposal by Anton Tchekhov, directed by Maurice Jacquemont, Théâtre de l'Ambigu
1957 : The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico García Lorca, directed by Maurice Jacquemont, Théâtre de l'Ambigu