Catherine Deneuve

Catherine Deneuve

Born Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (October 22, 1943 in Paris, France).

Catherine Deneuve is an Academy Award-nominated French actress.

A model of Gallic elegance and one of the best-respected actresses in the French film industry, Catherine Deneuve made her reputation playing a series of beautiful ice maidens for directors such as Luis Buñuel and Roman Polanski. The daughter of French stage and film actor Maurice Dorléac, Deneuve was born in Paris on October 22, 1943. She made her screen debut at the age of 13, with a role in the 1956 film Les Collegiennes, and went on to make a string of films with directors such as Roger Vadim (with whom she had a child) before getting her breakthrough role in Jaques Demy's charming musical, Les Parapluies de Cherbourg(1964). The burst of stardom that accompanied her portrayal led to two of her archetypal ice maiden roles, first in Roman Polanski's terrifying Repulsion in 1965 and then in Buñuel's 1967 Belle de Jour. Deneuve's startling portrayal of an icy, sexually adventurous housewife in the latter film helped to establish her as one of the most remarkable and compelling actresses of her generation. She further demonstrated her talent that year in Demy's Umbrellas musical follow-up, Les Demoiselles de Rochefort, which she starred in with her sister, Françoise Dorléac.

Deneuve continued to work steadily through the 1960s and 1970s in films such as the 1970 Tristana (her second collaboration with Buñuel) and A Slightly Pregnant Man (1973), in which she starred with her lover at the time, Marcello Mastrioanni. Despite or perhaps because of her stardom, Deneuve chose to avoid Hollywood, limiting her appearances in American films to The April Fools (1969) and Hustle (1975). Deneuve also did prolific work through the 1980s, appearing in such films as François Truffaut's Le Dernier Métro (1980) and Tony Scott's The Hunger (1983). The latter film saw Deneuve playing a bisexual vampire alongside David Bowie and Susan Sarandon, and her performance won her an indelible cult status in the States among lesbians, goths, and artistically inclined teenage boys.

In the 1990s, Deneuve garnered further international acclaim for her roles in several films, including the 1992 film Indochine (for which she won a César Award and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress) and two films directed by André Téchiné, Ma Saison Préférée (1993) and Les Voleurs (1995). In 1996, she paid homage to the director who had first given her fame by taking part in the documentary L'Univers de Jacques Demy. Closing out the final years of the 1990's Deneuve remained consistantly working in numerous films (in 1999 alone she appeared in no less than five films : Est-ouest, Le temps retrouvé, Pola X, Belle-maman, and Le vent de la nuit ) continuing to turn in compelling performances.

In 2000 Deneuve received much critical attention when cast alongside eccentric Icelandic singer Björk in the Lars von Trier's melancholy musical Dancer in the Dark. Though it polarized critics and audiences alike, Dancer nevertheless won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Career

She won the César Award for Best Actress in 1981 for her performance in Le Dernier métro (1980). She won the César Award for Best Actress a second time for her starring role in the 1992 film, Indochine and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for the same performance. In 1998 she won the Volpi Cup for best actress at the Venice Film Festival for her role in Place Vendôme by Nicole Garcia.

César Award Nominations

2006 - Palais royal! (by Valérie Lemercier) (Best Supporting Actress)

1999 - Place Vendôme (by Nicole Garcia) (Best Actress)

1997 - Voleurs, Les (by André Téchiné) (Best Actress)

1994 - Ma saison préférée (by André Téchiné) (Best Actress)

1989 - Drôle d'endroit pour une rencontre (by François Dupeyron) (Best Actress)

1988 - Agent trouble (by Jean-Pierre Mocky) (Best Actress)

1982 - Hôtel des Amériques (by André Téchiné) (Best Actress)

1976 - Sauvage, Le (by Jean-Paul Rappeneau) (Best Actress)

Academy Award Nominations

1992 - Indochine (by Régis Wargnier)

Venice Film Festival

1998 - Place Vendôme (by Nicole Garcia) - Best Actress

Other Career Highlights

Deneuve was the face of Chanel No. 5 in the seventies and caused sales of the perfume to soar in the United States. So much so that the American press, captivated by her charm, had nominated the French actress as the world's most elegant woman. Deneuve is currently a model for Mac Cosmetics and L'Oréal Paris. Her visage has also been used to symbolize "Marianne" (from 1985-2000), the national symbol of France.

Life

Father: Maurice Dorléac (actor; born March 26, 1901; died December 4, 1979)

Mother: Renée Deneuve (actress; French voice of Esther Williams)

Sister: Françoise Dorléac (actress; born March 21, 1942; died in a car crash June 26, 1967), Sylvie Dorléac, & Danielle Dorléac

Son: Christian Vadim (actor; born June 18, 1963).

Father: Roger Vadim (director)

Daughter: Chiara Mastroianni (actress; born May 28, 1972). Father: Marcello Mastroianni (actor)

Relationships: Roger Vadim (director; born January 28, 1928; died February 11, 2000), Marcello Mastroianni (actor; born September 28, 1924; died December 19, 1996)

Husband: David Bailey (photographer, director, & writer; born January 2, 1938; married August 19, 1965; divorced in 1972)

Actress - Filmography

2004 - Kings & Queen
2003 - A Talking Picture
2001 - 8 Women
2001 - I’m Going Home
2000 - Dancer in the Dark
1999 - The Book That Wrote Itself
1999 - East-West
1999 - Pola X
1999 - Time Regained
1999 - Le Vent de la Nuit
1998 - Place Vendôme
1996 - Les Voleurs
1995 - The Convent
1995 - Univers de Jacques Demy, L’
1993 - Les Demoiselles ont eu 25 ans
1993 - Ma Saison Préférée
1991 - Contre l’Oubli
1991 - Indochine
1988 - A Strange Place to Meet
1986 - The Scene of the Crime
1985 - Let’s Hope It’s a Girl
1983 - The Hunger
1980 - The Last Metro
1979 - A Nous Deux
1979 - Courage Fuyons
1978 - Argent des Autres, L’
1978 - Ecoute Voir…
1977 - March or Die
1976 - Second Chance
1975 - Agression, L’
1975 - Hustle
1975 - Le Sauvage
1974 - Drama of the Rich
1973 - The Slightly Pregnant Man
1973 - Touche pas à la femme blanche
1972 - Un Flic
1970 - Peau d’Ane
1970 - Tristana
1969 - The April Fools1969 - La Sirèn
e du Mississipi
1967 - Belle de Jour
1967 - Les Demoiselles de Rochefort
1966 - Les Créatures
1965 - Repulsion
1964 - Les Parapluies de Cherbourg
1963 - Le Vice et la Vertu

Producer - Filmography

Drôle d'endroit pour une rencontre / A Strange Place to Meet (1988) (producer)

Self - Filmography

The 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards (2006) (TV) .... Herself - presenter

Corazón de... Episode dated 2 December 2005 (2005) TV Episode .... Herself

Corazón de... Episode dated 26 January 2006 (????) TV Episode .... Herself

Histoire(s) d'Elle (2005) (TV)

Hebdo cinéma, L' Episode dated 13 November 2005 (2005) TV Episode .... Herself

Enfants de la télé, Les Episode dated 29 October

2005 (2005) TV Episode .... Herself

Richard & Judy Episode dated 28 September 2005 (2005) TV Episode .... Herself

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross Episode #9.3 (2005) TV Episode .... Herself

French Beauty (2005) (TV) .... Herself

Vacances de Noël, Les (2005) .... Herself

Campus (France: short title) Episode dated 9 December 2004 (2004) TV Episode .... Herself

The Money Programme Get Cartier (2004) TV Episode .... Herself

François Truffaut, une autobiographie (2004) (TV) .... Herself

The Best of So Graham Norton V (2004) .... Herself

Génie français, Le (2003) TV Series .... Herself/Host

Claude Berri, le dernier nabab (2003) (TV) .... Herself

V Graham Norton Episode #2.26 (2002) TV Episode .... Herself

Wetten, dass..? Wetten, dass..? aus Disneyland Paris (2002) TV Episode .... Herself

Wetten, dass..? Wetten, dass..? aus Innsbruck (1992) TV Episode .... Herself

The 74th Annual Academy Awards (2002) (TV) .... Herself (taped)

Exclusif Episode dated 30 January 2002 (2002) TV Episode .... Herself

Yves Saint Laurent 5 avenue Marceau 75116 Paris (2002) .... Herself

Yves Saint Laurent: His Life and Times (2002) (uncredited) .... Herself

Mundo VIP Show nº259 (2001) TV Episode .... Herself

Clouds: Letters to My Son (2001) .... Narrator (French language version)/Récitante

Von Trier's 100 øjne (2000) .... Herself

Brigitte & Friends Episode dated 28 May 2000 (2000) TV Episode .... Herself

So Graham Norton Episode #3.11 (2000) TV Episode .... Herself

Choreography: Creating Vincent Paterson's Dance Sequences (2000) (V)

The Book That Wrote Itself (1999) .... Herself

Pierre and Gilles, Love Stories (1997) .... Herself

Zénith des enfoirés, Le (1997) (V) .... Herself

Elle s'appelait Françoise (1996) (TV) .... Herself

Lo + plus Episode dated 20 November 1996 (1996) TV Episode .... Herself

The World of Jacques Demy (1995) .... Herself

De Serge Gainsbourg à Gainsbarre de 1958 - 1991 (1994) (V) .... (segment "Dieu fumeur de Havanes" 1980)

François Truffaut: Portraits volés (1993)

The 65th Annual Academy Awards (1993) (TV) (uncredited) .... Herself - Nominee: Best Actress in a

Leading Role & Presenter: Best Costume Design

The Young Girls Turn 25 (1993)

Primero izquierda Episode dated 12 December 1991 (1991) TV Episode .... Herself

Aspel & Company Episode #8.2 (1991) TV Episode .... Herself

Contre l'oubli (1991) .... Herself (segment "Pour Febe Elisabeth Velasquez, El Salvador")

Cinéma cinémas Jack Nicholson fait de la photo (1990) TV Episode .... Herself

Frames from the Edge (1989) .... Herself

Cinéma, de notre temps André Téchiné, après la Nouvelle Vague... (????) TV Episode .... Herself

Champs-Elysées Episode dated 10 May 1986 (1986) TV Episode .... Herself

Champs-Elysées Episode dated 22 December 1984 (1984) TV Episode .... Herself

Vivement Truffaut (1985) (TV) .... Herself/Marion

Ciné regards L'avis de Rappeneau (1981) TV Episode .... Herself

Reporters (1981) .... Herself

Dernier cri des Halles, Le (1973) .... Herself

Gala 71 (1971) (TV) .... Herself

Henri Langlois (1970) .... Herself

Vienna: The Years Remembered (1968) (uncredited) .... Herself

Derrière l'écran (1966) TV Series .... Herself

Cinépanorama Episode dated 21 October 1962 (1962) TV Episode .... Herself

Archive Footage

Graffiti 60 (2005) (mini) .... Herself
Cinema mil Episode #1.11 (2005) TV Episode .... Herself
Cinema mil Episode #1.1 (2005) TV Episode .... Herself
40 ans de la 2, Les (2004) (TV) .... Herself
Celebrity Naked Ambition (2003) (TV)
The Son of Samsonite (2002) .... Catherine
The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002) .... Herself - Golden Globe Awards
Speriamo che sia femmina (1986) .... Martina Leonardi
Margret Dünser, auf der Suche nach den Besonderen (1981) (TV) .... Herself

Trivia

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#38) (1995).

An archetype for Gallic beauty, she succeeded Brigitte Bardot as the model for Marianne, the symbol of the French Republic seen on French coins and stamps (1985 - 2000).

Ranked #89 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list (October 1997).

Catherine is the third of four daughters born to the French actors Maurice Dorléac and Renée Deneuve (whose name she uses).

She liked Breaking the Waves (1996) by Lars von Trier so much that she wrote a personal letter to him, asking him for a role in a film of his. The result of this is her part in Dancer in the Dark (2000).

Has never performed in the theatre due to stage fright.

Festival tribute at the Créteil International Women's Film Festival, France (1994).

Was once fashion designer Yves Saint-Laurent's muse, who dressed her for the films Belle de Jour (1967), La Chamade (1968), La Sirène du Mississippi (1969), Un Flic (1972), and The Hunger (1983).

Had a brand of perfume named after her.

Measurements: 33 1/2-24-35 (1965 - "My bust is small."), 34 1/2B-25 1/2-36 (in 1985) (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)

She speaks fluent Italian and French, as well as semi-fluent English and German.

Marilyn Monroe is her favorite actress, and The Misfits (1961) is her favorite movie starring Marilyn.

Vice president of jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1994.

Mother-in-law of singer Benjamin Biolay.

Her role in La Sirène du Mississippi (1969) was played by Angelina Jolie in Original Sin (2001), the American remake of the movie.

Published her diary "A l'ombre de moi-meme" (In my shadow), in which she writes about the shootings of Indochine (1992) and Dancer in the Dark (2000).

Sang duets with Bernadette Lafont (1975), Gérard Depardieu (1980), Malcolm McLaren (1993), Joe Cocker (1995) and Alain Souchon (1997). In 1981, she released an album with songs of Serge Gainsbourg.

Designer of glasses, shoes, jewelry and greeting cards.

Member of the international jury of the Shangaï Television festival in 1988.

Her performance as Séverine Sérizy in Belle de jour (1967) is ranked #59 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).

She had a relationship with 'Francois Truffaut' in the 1970s. When the relationship failed, Truffaut had a nervous breakdown. Deneuve attended his funeral in 1984 and later appeared in 8 femmes (2002) with Fanny Ardant, who was Truffaut's partner at the time of his death and the mother of his youngest daughter.

Head juror of the 2006 Venice Film Festival.

She and Marcello Mastroianni made five movies together: Les Cent et une nuits de Simon Cinéma(1995), Liza (1972), Touche pas à la femme blanche (1974), Ça n'arrive qu'aux autres (1971) and L'Événement le plus important depuis que l'homme a marché sur la lune (1973).

The lesbian magazine Curve was originally called 'Deneuve'; it was forced to change its name after a trade mark dispute with her. Despite being the subject of repeated rumors of bisexuality (perhaps because of her marriage to Roger Vadim, or because of the roles she has played), no evidence of such relationships has ever been brought forward, though having gay friends she has always spoken supportively on the subject.

Quotes

“People who know me know I'm strong, but I'm vulnerable.”

“I don't see any reason for marriage when there is divorce.”

“Love is suffering. One side always loves more ...”

“People have always thought of me as someone who's very classical, when in fact I've led a rather unconventional life.”

“It is very fashionable for good-looking ladies to say how hard it is to be beautiful, but that’s not true. There are times when it depresses and bothers me to see just how easy things are made for a beautiful woman.”

“I'm lucky. I'm getting older with some directors who are getting older.”

“The thing about a tuxedo is that it is virile and feminine at the same time,”

“It was so beautiful. Such extraordinary colors, classical, and refined and very structured as well. A superb collection.”

“Opportunities are often things you haven't noticed the first time around.”

“Paris is just special. I don't say that there are no other cities in America or Italy. But everybody wants to show in Paris.”

“This is a place full of seduction and coquetry, rich in eroticism.”

“I felt very proud to be chosen. I really did collaborate on the product, colors, the style of the powder cases.”

“This is a magic place. It's one of my favorite buildings in Paris.”

“She's a great model. If she's ruining her personal life, that belongs to her. What she does in her private life is very private. I find it unbearable that maybe someone shot her (picture), stole the photos then sold them.”

“Cinema is still a very young art form with extraordinary techniques and very impressive special effects but sometimes it seems the soul has been taken out of things.”

News

Catherine Deneuve has announced that she will be working with André Téchiné again in 2007.