Marie-José Benhalassa (22 April 1940 – 10 October 2019), known professionally as Marie-José Nat, was a French actress. Among her notable works in cinema were the sequel films '' Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Jean-Marc'' and '' Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Françoise'' (1963), directed by

André Cayatte André Cayatte (3 February 1909, in Carcassonne – 6 February 1989, in Paris) was a French filmmaker, writer and lawyer, who became known for his films centering on themes of crime, justice, and moral responsibility. Cayatte began his directoral ...

. In 1974, she received a

Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress The Best Actress Award (french: Prix d'interprétation féminine) is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival since 1946. It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance and chosen by the jury from the films in officia ...

for her performance in the film '' Violins at the Ball''.

Early life and family

Benhalassa was born in Bonifacio,

Corse-du-Sud Corse-du-Sud (; co, link=no, Corsica suttana , or ; en, Southern Corsica) is (as of 2019) an administrative department of France, consisting of the southern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collect ...

, to a Kabyle Berber father, Abdelkader Benhalassa, and a Corsican mother, Vincentine (Biancarelli).'' Who's Who in France'', édition 2015,. . In 1960, she married the actor Roger Dumas and divorced him in 1962. She then married French director

Michel Drach Michel Drach (18 October 1930 in Paris – 14 February 1990 in Paris) was a French film director, writer, producer and actor. Life and career Drach was born in Paris, France, the son of Yvonne (Vanderheym) and Maurice Drach. His family was Jewis ...

with whom she had three sons, David, Julien and Aurélien. They divorced in 1981. She had a relationship of several years with the actor

Victor Lanoux Victor Lanoux (18 June 1936 – 4 May 2017) was a French actor best known to English speaking audiences for his role as Ludovic in '' Cousin, Cousine''. Biography Victor Lanoux, born Victor Robert Nataf was the son of a Tunisian Jew from Sfax a ...

.Marie-José Nat
on ''bifi.fr''. On 30 September 2005 she married the painter, writer and songwriter Serge Rezvani in her third marriage. She died in Paris of cancer at age 79..

Training

After secondary studies at the Ajaccio high school, Benhalassa entered the in Paris.

Career

Marie-José Benhalassa

Benhalassa began her career as a cover-girl and haute-couture model. In 1955, she won a competition from the magazine '' Femmes d'aujourd'hui'' which allowed her to become Jean-Claude Pascal's partner in a

photo comics Photo comics are a form of sequential storytelling that uses photographs rather than illustrations for the images, along with the usual comics conventions of narrative text and word balloons containing dialogue. They are sometimes referred to ...

entitled ''L'amour est un songe''.

Marie-José Nat

Denys de La Patellière Denys de La Patellière (8 March 1921 in Nantes, France–21 July 2013) was a French film director and scriptwriter. He also directed Television series. of 92. Filmography as director * 1955 : '' Les Aristocrates'', with Pierre Fresnay * ...

offered her her first major role in 1959 in ''

Rue des prairies ''Rue des prairies'' is a 1959 French drama film directed by Denys de La Patellière. It is an adaptation of a novel by René Lefèvre. Plot Widower Henri Neveux (Jean Gabin) has difficult relationships with his children. Cast * Jean Gabin ...

'' alongside

Jean Gabin Jean Gabin (; 17 May 190415 November 1976) was a French actor and singer. Considered a key figure in French cinema, he starred in several classic films including ''Pépé le Moko'' (1937), '' La grande illusion'' (1937), ''Le Quai des brumes'' ...

, in which she played his daughter. The following year, she performed in a

comedy sketch Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and i ...

René Clair René Clair (11 November 1898 – 15 March 1981), born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker and writer. He first established his reputation in the 1920s as a director of silent films in which comedy was often mingled with fantasy. He wen ...

alongside

Claude Rich Claude Rich (8 February 1929 – 20 July 2017) was a French stage and screen actor. He began his career in the theater before his film debut in 1955. Personal life He married actress Catherine Renaudin on 26 June 1959. They had two daughters, ...

and

Yves Robert Yves Robert (19 June 1920 – 10 May 2002) was a French actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. Life and career Robert was born in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, France. In his teens, he went to Paris to pursue a career in acting, starting with ...

, and obtained a major role in '' La Vérité'' by Henri-Georges Clouzot, playing

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...

's rival opposite Sami Frey. In 1965, she married filmmaker

; they had three children and divorced in 1981. She starred in several of her husband's films: ''

Amelie or The Time to Love ''Amelie or The Time to Love'' (french: Amélie ou le Temps d'aimer) is a 1961 French drama film directed by Michel Drach. It was entered into the 11th Berlin International Film Festival. Cast * Marie-José Nat - Amélie * Jean Sorel - Alain * ...

'' (1961), ''

Elise, or Real Life ''Elise, or Real Life'' (french: Élise ou la vraie vie) is a 1970 French drama film directed by Michel Drach. It was entered into the 1970 Cannes Film Festival. Cast * Marie-José Nat as Elise Le Tellier * Mohamed Chouikh as Arezki * Bernadett ...

'' (1970) and '' Les violons du bal'' (1974), inspired by his childhood experiences during World War II. She was also known for ''Train of Life'' (1998), ''Litan'' (1982) and ''The Dacians'' (1966) with Jean Sorel,

Jean-Louis Trintignant Jean-Louis Xavier Trintignant (; 11 December 1930 – 17 June 2022) was a French actor. He made his theatrical debut in 1951, and went on to be regarded as one of the best French dramatic actors of the post-war era. He starred in many classic fi ...

and Bernadette Lafont as acting partners. In 2001, Nat was a member of the jury at the 36th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2001, and at the 24th

Cabourg Film Festival The Cabourg Film Festival (french: Festival du Film de Cabourg – Journées romantiques or simply ) is an annual film festival held every June in Cabourg, France. Founded in 1983 by writer-journalist Gonzague Saint Bris, the festival is dedic ...

in 2010. She was the very first person to appear on the front cover of Télé 7 Jours in its current name on March 26, 1960.

Awards and honours

Nat was awarded

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival for her performance in '' Violins at the Ball'', and the film was nominated for the

Golden Palm The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

award. She was made a chevalier of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

on 31 December 2004, chevalier of the

Ordre national du Mérite The Ordre national du Mérite (; en, National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's estab ...

on 18 November 2002 and promoted to the rank of officer on 14 November 2011, commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres as a member of the conseil de l'ordre of which she was a member from 1 March 2001 until April 2012Déclaration du ministre de la Culture et de la Communication, 2 April 2012
.

Roles

Theatre

* 1958: ''Virage dangereux'' by

John Boynton Priestley John Boynton Priestley (; 13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984) was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator. His Yorkshire background is reflected in much of his fiction, notably in ''The Good Compa ...

, directed by

Raymond Rouleau Raymond Rouleau (4 June 1904 – 11 December 1981) was a Belgian actor and film director. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1928 and 1979. He also directed 22 films between 1932 and 1981. Rouleau studied at the Royal Conservatory of B ...

, Théâtre Michel * 1959: ''Blaise'' by , directed by Jacques Mauclair, Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1966: ''Médor'' by

Roger Vitrac Roger Vitrac (; 17 November 1899 – 22 January 1952) was a French surrealist playwright and poet. Early life Roger Vitrac was born in Pinsac on 17 November 1899, before his family moved to Paris in 1910.:527 As a young man, he was influenced b ...

, directed by

Maurice Jacquemont Maurice may refer to: People *Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr *Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and Lo ...

, with

Bernard Noël Bernard Noël (19 November 1930 – 13 April 2021) was a French writer and poet. He received the ''Grand Prix national de la poésie'' (National Grand Prize of Poetry) in 1992 and the ''Prix Robert Ganzo'' (Robert Ganzo Prize) in 2010. Biography ...

studio des Champs-Élysées A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design, ...

* 1984: '' Désiré'' by Sacha Guitry, directed by Jean-Claude Brialy, with Jean-Claude Brialy an Bernadette Lafont, Théâtre Édouard VII * 1985: ''Voisin voisine'' after

Jerome Chodorov Jerome Chodorov (August 10, 1911 – September 12, 2004) was an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. He co-wrote the book with Joseph A. Fields for the original Broadway musical ''Wonderful Town'' starring Rosalind Russell. The musi ...

directed by Pierre Mondy, with

Théâtre du Palais-Royal The Théâtre du Palais-Royal () is a 750-seat Parisian theatre at 38 rue de Montpensier, located at the northwest corner of the Palais-Royal in the Galerie de Montpensier at its intersection with the Galerie de Beaujolais. Brief history ...

, then in 1986 at Théâtre Montansier * 1990: ''Avec ou sans arbres'' by Jeannine Worms, directed by Albert-André Lheureux, with Henri Garcin,

Théâtre Hébertot Théâtre Hébertot () is a theatre at 78, boulevard des Batignolles, in the 17th arrondissement of Paris, France. History The theatre, completed in 1838 and opening as the Théâtre des Batignolles, was later renamed Théâtre des Arts in 190 ...

Film

Among her notable works in cinema were the sequel films '' Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Jean-Marc'' and '' Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Françoise'' (1963), directed by

. * ''

Crime and Punishment ''Crime and Punishment'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Преступление и наказание, Prestupléniye i nakazániye, prʲɪstʊˈplʲenʲɪje ɪ nəkɐˈzanʲɪje) is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. ...

'' (1956) - La jeune fille du bal (uncredited) * ''

Women's Club The woman's club movement was a social movement that took place throughout the United States that established the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform public policy. While women's organizations had always been a part ...

'' (1956) * ''Donnez-moi ma chance'' (1957) - Rosine * ''Arènes joyeuses'' (1958) - Violette * ''Vous n'avez rien à déclarer?'' (1959) - Lise * ''Secret professionnel'' (1959) - Elvire * ''

'' (1959) - Odette Neveux * ''Vive le duc!'' (1960) - Cécile * '' Love and the Frenchwoman'' (1960) - The bride (segment "Mariage, Le") * ''

The Truth The Truth may refer to: Film * ''The Truth'' (1920 film) starring Madge Kennedy * ''The Truth'' (1960 film) or ''La Vérité'', a French film by Henri-Georges Clouzot starring Brigitte Bardot * ''The Truth'' (1988 film), a Hong Kong trial crim ...

'' (1960) - Annie Marceau * '' The Menace'' (1961) - Josépha * ''

'' (1961) - Amélie * ''

The Seven Deadly Sins The seven deadly sins is a classification of vices used in Christian teachings. Seven deadly sins may also refer to: Art * ''The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things'', a 1485 painting by Hieronymus Bosch * '' The Seven Deadly Sins of Moder ...

'' (1962) - La jeune femme (segment "Colère, La") * ''

Sentimental Education ''Sentimental Education'' (French: ''L'Éducation sentimentale'', 1869) is a novel by Gustave Flaubert. Considered one of the most influential novels of the 19th century, it was praised by contemporaries such as George Sand and Émile Zola, but ...

'' (1962) - Anne Arnoux * '' Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Jean-Marc'' (1964) - Françoise Dubreuil * '' Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Françoise'' (1964) - Françoise Dubreuil * ''La bonne occase'' (1965) - Béatrice * '' A Woman in White'' (1965) - Claude Sauvage * '' Dacii'' (1966) - Meda - Decebalus' Daughter * '' Diamond Safari'' (1966) - Electre * ''Mon amour, mon amour'' (1967) - Minor Role (uncredited) * '' Le Paria'' (1969) - Lucia * '' L'Opium et le Bâton'' (1969) - Farroudja * ''

'' (1970) - Elise Le Tellier * ''

Embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

'' (1972) - Laure * ''Kruiswegstraat 6'' (1973) - Françoise Verbrugge * '' Violins at the Ball'' (1974) - Elle (La femme et la mère de Michel) / Michel's wife * '' Dis-moi que tu m'aimes'' (1974) - Charlotte Le Royer * '' The Simple Past'' (1977) - Cécile * '' La disubbidienza'' (1981) - Mrs. Manzi * ''Anna'' (1981) - Anna * '' Litan'' (1982) - Nora * ''Black River'' (1991) - Mme Ginette * ''Le nombril du monde'' (1993) - Oumi * ''La nuit du destin'' (1997) - Mme Slimani * '' Train of Life'' (1998) - Sura * '' Colette, une femme libre'' (2004, TV Mini-Series) - Sido * ''Le cadeau d'Elena'' (2004) - Elena Nat also worked extensively in television series and dramas.

References

External links

*
Marie-José Nat
at Allmovie {{DEFAULTSORT:Nat, Marie-Jose 1940 births 2019 deaths People from Corse-du-Sud Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress winners French film actresses French television actresses French people of Algerian descent Actresses of Algerian descent French people of Kabyle descent French people of Corsican descent 20th-century French actresses Knights of the Legion of Honour Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Deaths from cancer in France