Her repertory included Medea, Sappho, Lady Macbeth, Mary Stuart, Preciosa, Phèdre, Adrienne Lecouvreur, Jane Eyre and Messalina, in which character she was immortalized by the painter Hans Makart.
Valeria Messalina (c. 17/20 – 48), a Roman empress, the third wife of the Emperor Claudius
The Empress Messaline loves Harès, a poet and then Hélion, his brother (who is a gladiator) with fatal results.
The movie presents Victor Mature as Demetrius, a Christian slave made to fight in the Roman arena as a gladiator, and Susan Hayward as Messalina.