She is considered the queen of French cinema and is currently embodying a presidential wife on the big screen: The actress Catherine Deneuve, who turns 80 on Sunday and was awarded a Golden Lion for her life’s work in Venice in August, is bursting with energy. For a long time she was considered fascinating but cold. It was only later in her career that she began to show maternal traits and warm humor.
She appeared in front of the camera for more than 140 films, including masterpieces by well-known directors. She didn’t want to become an actress; that seemed to be the talent of her sister Françoise, who died in a car accident at the age of 25. But then Catherine was discovered by star director Roger Vadim, who had previously made Brigitte Bardot famous. The brunette Deneuve dyed her hair blonde and left her family at 17 to live with Vadim. At 20 she became a mother for the first time.
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She became known with the musical “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg”, which won her her first Palme d’Or for best actress in Cannes at the age of 20. Since then, she has been a permanent guest at the film festival on the Côte d’Azur, which she opened this year together with her daughter Chiara.
In the 1960s, Deneuve caused a stir as “Belle de jour” directed by Luis Buñuel. She played a Parisian doctor’s wife who finds fulfillment as a prostitute. The costumes for the film were designed by fashion designer Yves Saint-Laurent, who from then on dressed Deneuve and described him as a “lucky charm”. Director François Truffaut paired her with Gérard Depardieu as a film partner in his 1980 classic “The Last Metro” – the first of about a dozen films together.
Deneuve did not allow himself to be tied down to specific roles. She played a lesbian vampire in “Desire,” a plantation owner in “Indochine,” and a factory worker in “Dancer in the Dark.” She wasn’t above doing an Asterix film either – alongside Depardieu, of course.
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She largely shielded her private life. She was married only once, to the British photographer David Bailey. She wore a little black dress to her wedding in 1965, and rock star Mick Jagger was her best man. In 1972, the year she divorced Bailey, she had her daughter Chiara with Italian filmmaker Marcello Mastroianni. Her two children also became actors, and she appeared in front of the camera with Chiara several times.
Deneuve is not afraid to offend. “She has an incredible ability to not worry about what others might think of her,” says her daughter Chiara about her.
She remains loyal to Roman Polanski
Deneuve was one of the 343 French women who publicly admitted in 1971 that they had had illegal abortions. She criticized the #MeToo movement against sexual abuse as a “prude witch hunt” and called for a “right to be teased.” She is still loyal to director Roman Polanski, who was confronted with rape allegations.
For a portrait of the New York Times on her 70th birthday, Deneuve was photographed in a black lace bodysuit on high heels. “My appearance doesn’t necessarily correspond to my temperament,” emphasizes Deneuve.
Those around her appreciate her unaffected nature. “She is friendly and considerate of others, which is rare in this profession,” says director Emmanuelle Bercot about her.
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In 2019, Deneuve suffered a stroke, luckily for her, while filming in a hospital. The film “Let in Love”, in which she plays the mother of a man with cancer, was completed after her recovery and was released in cinemas at the end of 2021.
Three years after the stroke, she was back in front of the camera. In a modest costume, with a handbag and a hairdryer, she plays Bernadette Chirac, the often ridiculed but influential wife of former President Jacques Chirac. “I want to surprise and be surprised, otherwise I start to get bored,” says Deneuve.
2023-10-21 09:22:55
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