Michèle Morgan (; born Simone Renée Roussel; 29 February 1920 – 20 December 2016) was a French film actress, who was a leading lady for three decades in both French cinema and

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

features. She is considered one of the greatest French actresses of the 20th century. Morgan was the inaugural winner of the Best Actress Award at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

. In 1992, she was given an honorary

César Award Cesar or César may refer to: Arts and entertainment * César (film), ''César'' (film), a 1936 French romantic drama * César (film), ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt Places * Cesar, Portugal * Cesar Department, Colombia * Cesar R ...

for her contributions to French cinema.

Early life

Morgan was born Simone Renée Roussel in

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a department in the Île-de-France region of France. It covers Paris's western inner suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the east, Val-d'Oise to the north, Yvelines to the west and ...

, a suburb of Paris. She grew up in

Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...

Seine-Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inf� ...

, France.

Career

Morgan left home at the age of 15 for Paris determined to become an actress. She took acting lessons from René Simon while serving as an extra in several films to pay for her drama classes. It was then that she took the stage name "Michèle Morgan". She argued that she did not have the body type of a Simone, and "Morgan" sounded more Hollywood-friendly. Morgan was first noticed by director

Marc Allégret Marc Allégret (22 December 1900 – 3 November 1973) was a French screenwriter, photographer and film director. Biography Born in Basel, Basel-Stadt, Switzerland, he was the elder brother of Yves Allégret. Marc was educated to be a lawyer in ...

, who offered her a major role in the film '' Gribouille'' (1937), opposite Raimu. Then came '' Le Quai des brumes'' (1938) directed by

Marcel Carné Marcel Albert Carné (; 18 August 1906 – 31 October 1996) was a French film director. A key figure in the poetic realism movement, Carné's best known films include ''Port of Shadows'' (1938), ''Le Jour Se Lève'' (1939), ''Les Visiteurs du Soi ...

and '' Remorques'' (1941) directed by

Jean Grémillon Jean Grémillon (; 3 October 1901 – 25 November 1959) was a French film director. Biography Grémillon was born in Bayeux and spent his early years in Cerisy-la-Forêt in Normandy. His father was employed by the Ouest railway company. Durin ...

, both opposite Jean Gabin. Michele Morgan in The Vintage 2

Upon the invasion of France in 1940 by the Germans, Morgan left for the United States and Hollywood where she was contracted to

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the major film studios, "Big Five" film studios of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's Clas ...

in 1941. Her career there proved rather disappointing, apart from '' Joan of Paris'' (1942) opposite Paul Henreid, and '' Higher and Higher'' (1943) opposite

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

. She was tested and strongly considered for the female lead in ''

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

'' but RKO would not release her for the amount of money that

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

offered. Morgan did work for Warners, however, in ''

Passage to Marseille ''Passage to Marseille'', also known as ''Message to Marseille'', is a 1944 American war film made by Warner Brothers, directed by Michael Curtiz. The screenplay was by Casey Robinson and Jack Moffitt (screenwriter), Jack Moffitt from the novel ...

'' (1944) with

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...

. After the war, Morgan returned to France and quickly resumed her career with the film '' La Symphonie Pastorale'' (1946) directed by

Jean Delannoy Jean Delannoy (; 12 January 1908 – 18 June 2008) was a French actor, film editor, screenwriter and film director. Biography Although Delannoy was born in a Paris suburb, his family was from Haute-Normandie in the north of France. He was a Pro ...

, which earned her the Best Actress award at the

. Her other films from this period include;

Carol Reed Sir Carol Reed (30 December 1906 – 25 April 1976) was an English film director and producer, best known for '' Odd Man Out'' (1947), '' The Fallen Idol'' (1948), '' The Third Man'' (1949), and '' Oliver!'' (1968), for which he was awarded th ...

's '' The Fallen Idol'' (1948), '' Fabiola'' (1949), '' The Proud and the Beautiful'' (1953) by Yves Allégret, '' Les Grandes Manœuvres'' (1955) by

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. H ...

and '' Marie-Antoinette reine de France'' (1956). She continued working in films throughout the 1960s, such as in '' Lost Command'' (1966), a version of '' Les Centurions''. In the 1970s, she virtually retired from her acting career, then made only occasional appearances in film, television and theatre. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Morgan has a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

at 1645 Vine Street. In 1969, the government of France awarded her the

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. For her long service to the French motion picture industry, in 1992 she was given an Honorary César Award. In 1996, she also received the Career Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

. Morgan took up painting in the 1960s. She had a solo exhibition, "Artistes En Lumière à Paris", from 2 March to 30 April 2009, at the Espace Cardin in Paris. In 1977 she released her memoir, titled ''With Those Eyes'' (''Avec ces yeux-là'').

Personal life and death

While in Hollywood, Morgan married William Marshall (1917–1994), in 1942, with whom she had a son, Mike Marshall (1944–2005). Morgan had built and owned a house at

10050 Cielo Drive 10050 Cielo Drive was the street address of a former luxury home in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles, Benedict Canyon, in the west-central part of the Beverly Crest, Los Angeles, Beverly Crest neighborhood of Los Angeles, bordering Beverly Hills, Cal ...

. Morgan and Marshall divorced in 1948. She married French actor

Henri Vidal Henri Vidal (26 November 1919 – 10 December 1959) was a French film actor. Film career Henri Lucien Raymond VidalSource Les Gens du cinéma/ref> was first noticed after he won the "Apollo of 1939" contest in Paris. He was spotted by Édith ...

(1919–1959) in 1950. She remained with him until his death in 1959. She then lived with film director and actor/writer

Gérard Oury Gérard Oury (; born Max-Gérard Houry Tannenbaum; 29 April 1919 – 20 July 2006) was a French film director, actor and writer. Life and career Max-Gérard Houry-Tannenbaum was the only son of Serge Tannenbaum, a violinist of Russian-Jewish or ...

until his death in 2006. Morgan died on 20 December 2016, aged 96, in

Meudon Meudon () is a French Communes of France, commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, on the left bank of the Seine. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of P ...

, France of natural causes. Her funeral was held at the Église Saint-Pierre in Neuilly-sur-Seine on 23 December 2016, and she was buried at the

Montparnasse Cemetery Montparnasse Cemetery () is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, in the city's 14th arrondissement of Paris, 14th arrondissement. The cemetery is roughly 47 acres and is the second largest cemetery in Paris. The cemetery has over 35,00 ...

. Despite living to the age of 96, she technically only had 24 birthdays due to being born on 29 February.

Filmography

Trivia

The former

President of Chile The president of Chile (), officially the president of the Republic of Chile (), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is responsible for both Government of Chile, government administration and s ...

Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018, becoming the first woman to hold the presidency. She was re-elected in December ...

was named after Michèle Morgan. She almost played Ilsa Lund in

References

External links

*
Michèle Morgan
at filmsdefrance.com *
Photographs of Michèle Morgan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Michele 1920 births 2016 deaths Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress winners César Honorary Award recipients Actresses from Neuilly-sur-Seine People from Dieppe, Seine-Maritime Actresses from Normandy Actresses from Los Angeles French expatriate actresses in the United States French film actresses French memoirists Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour 20th-century French actresses Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite RKO Pictures contract players Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery French women memoirists 21st-century American women Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement recipients