Rose Ouellette

Rose-Alma Ouellette OQ, (August 25, 1903 – September 14, 1996) also known by her stage name La Poune was a Quebec actress, comedian, theatre manager and artistic director. Ouellette was born to François Ouellette and Josephine Lasanté in the faubourg à M’lasse, a working-class neighbourhood in Montréal, Quebec. In her teens, she dropped out of school and worked at a shoe factory in order to provide income for her large family. In the later part of her career, she appeared in film and on television, but she is most remembered for her work on stage. She is known as the first woman ever to have directed two individual playhouses in North America.

Ouellette was a leading figure of the very popular burlesque and vaudeville genres which dominated the theatrical scene in Montreal from the 1920s until the 1960s. From 1936 to 1953, Ouellette was in charge of the Théâtre National. In 1958 she launched a career in cabaret that lasted more than 20 years. In the late 60s and early 70s, she worked with Gilles Latulippe at the Théâtre des Variétés of Montreal. Her 75-year career eventually made her a cultural icon in Quebec.