Ladies-Drive n° 67 (Autumn 2024)

Jacqueline Fritschi-Cornaz: The Inner Light

What makes Jacqueline Fritschi-Cornaz shine ?

Jacqueline is Mother Teresa or Coco Chanel. She is a well-known Swiss film and stage actress who never aimed for the grand cinema spotlight—yet she made it there, and at an age when many others tend to lament a lack of roles. In a profession where it is often about appearance and reality, she is a small, luminous star.

When we say in this issue that youth is the North Star for society as a whole, and that youthfulness is increasingly leaping fluidly across generations, then we ought to listen closely to this lady.

Ladies Drive: What moves you most now?

Jacqueline Fritschi-Cornaz: Still the Swiss‑Indian‑British film “Mother Teresa & Me” by Kamal Musale.

It’s an incredible joy that this passion project is already showing in cinemas in 20 countries. Imagine—it took a 15‑year journey to realize this visionary project, something that had never existed in this form before. From the initial idea to global fundraising, production, and distribution; it was a mammoth team effort. And all the proceeds from the film go to NGOs that support the poorest children in their education and healthcare.

Behind this film stands the Zariya Foundation, whose goal is to inspire people worldwide to commit in their own environment, to respect, tolerance, and love, across religions, cultures, and social backgrounds. Especially in a world once again full of conflicts and wars, there is so much we can do in our personal sphere, and we can encourage others to believe that, as individuals, they too can do good.

As Mother Teresa said: we must get into action, bring love into action, for anything to happen at all. Last year we were able to celebrate the U.S. premiere at United Nations Headquarters in New York. In parallel, the film ran in more than 700 U.S. cinemas. In Switzerland, after its theatrical release, the film is now available via Swisscom blue. Swisscom is donating the entire proceeds to the foundation, which is fantastic.

And what’s next for you?

Well, I finally have a bit of breathing room again—and the desire for a new role. I asked myself which female figure I could portray as an actress not merely as a myth, but as a fully rounded personality with all her facets. Women are often presented “only” as idols—Mother Teresa included.

And which female icon have you chosen?

Coco Chanel—because she has so many facets, of which people don’t know. She was, for example, a great patron of the arts. She took in Stravinsky and his entire family at her villa and financed, in today’s terms, around 400,000 euros for the reworking of The Rite of Spring. She was revolutionary in fashion and, among other things, had a suite at the Ritz—which, it must be said, served as the Nazi headquarters during the Second World War.

Through her relationship with Baron Hans Günther von Dincklage, she also allowed herself to be used as a spy, among other things to free her nephew from a German prison. After her arrest, she was released only thanks to her friendship with Winston Churchill and lived for nine years in Lausanne. From my research I developed five engaging, entertaining scenes, which I’m now bringing to the stage—including at Belvoirpark in Zurich.

It’s going to be wonderful! We are combining the theater evening with a small exhibition and a dinner. The audience should feel like guests in one of Coco Chanel’s villas or in the lobby of the Ritz. The five‑course menu will be staged by the chef to match the piece.

Wow—that sounds exciting. Tell us—what drives you?

When I was five years old, in a children’s ballet, I discovered the stage and performing. That’s when I first felt like an instrument, a channel through which I could reach people and pass something on. It fulfilled me deeply. If I manage to move an audience—to inspire, to motivate, to prompt self‑reflection—that’s a gift to me.

How hard is it for a Swiss actress to build an international career?

Big careers are rare. It’s very difficult. But it was never my primary goal. I quickly realized I’m happier joining with others to create our own production that I can truly stand behind, rather than wait to be “discovered.” We were, for example, a fantastic team for “Mother Teresa & Me,” and I consider it a blessing and a privilege that we succeeded in making this film and are celebrating international success with it.

It’s great that we’re reaching so many people. But for me, very small productions can also be true passion projects. It’s not about international success. That it happened is fantastic and it surely helps me on my path. But I’ve never waited for things to come. If you wait, you only get frustrated.

How do you deal with the fact that so much in life revolves around youth? “Sixty is the new forty.” What’s your take?

I’m an aesthete. Naturally, it matters to me to let my personality shine. But I honestly don’t have the time to stand in front of the mirror counting wrinkles. Everyday I’m grateful for the chance to work in a profession through which I can entertain and stimulate others, slip into a role, or build a project with others that has an impact.

In my private circle I’m also surrounded by people who don’t subject me to that pressure, and where I’m seen as Jacqueline. There I can be myself. And I’m in a partnership with my husband, with whom I share a fulfilling togetherness and an exciting life. I’m very grateful for that.

So good to hear! But I do understand that many feel the pressure to look fresh so that people keep trusting them with responsibility at work.

Yes, of course, I understand that too. I’m 62—and I play Coco Chanel at different stages of life. That works as well—thanks to makeup and wigs! In my job I’m allowed to live out things that, say, a manager wouldn’t get to live out, I get to experience things, to immerse myself in other lives—that’s my El Dorado, my fountain of youth, so to speak. Because I also dive into areas that are foreign to me, or those with which I wouldn’t agree to in normal life.

What has all this slipping into other lives done to you as a person?

I’m very grateful and humble about life. We filmed in Mumbai and Kolkata during the pandemic. That was an incredible challenge. When you see how the majority of people on this planet live, you feel endless gratitude. We are allowed to grow up in Switzerland, to get an education, to realize ourselves. I believe it’s also our responsibility to do something for this world.

Give a little back?

Yes, absolutely. But not out of guilt. I discovered that through acting it’s possible to inspire and to give others strength and courage—and that’s possible in other professions or in private life, too. We have so much more potential within us than we think. That’s so much more important and fulfilling than being frustrated by the urge or wish for eternal youth.

I think once you’ve felt how much comes back when you give, you’ll do it again and again. Give without intent, without expectation. Usually something does come back—perhaps from somewhere entirely different. That is so soul‑nourishing. We know wonderful quotes from Mother Teresa—for example: “Don’t wait for leaders, do it alone, person to person.” That’s a guiding principle for me, strengthening my belief that together we can “move mountains.”

Especially in the business world, where women sometimes feel so alone and think: I can’t move anything anyway, I’ll never get there, I’m not seen. And then they think they need to change something in their face, or elsewhere, to be seen and recognized. I don’t judge that, but I feel that if we trust the energy within us, our “true self” will radiate.

Absolutely. You mentioned allowing what’s inside to shine. How do you do that?

I think it does have to do with one’s own contentment, feeling peace within oneself and within oneself, feeling understood and loved in one’s environment, understanding what does you good and what nourishes you. I believe you can draw a great deal of radiance from your own happiness. And sometimes, I think, it’s also about very consciously lighting your own inner light – your little lamp. I also have days when I struggle more, when I’m frustrated because, for example, I’ve received yet another rejection for a casting or a tour venue. At those times you sometimes have to light that inner light quite deliberately yourself. I then seek quiet. I withdraw. I sit in the bathtub or go to a favorite place where I can just come back to myself for a moment. To come into silence and to endure it. That helps enormously.

Sources: Sandra‑Stella Triebl, “Jacqueline Fritschi‑Cornaz: Das innere Licht,” Ladies Drive Magazin, No. 67 (Autumn 2024). Published online October 3, 2024. Link: https://ladiesdrive.world/online/jacqueline-fritschi-cornaz-das-innere-licht/