Anne Vernon (born Édith Antoinette Alexandrine Vignaud; 9 January 1924) is a French retired film and television actress who appeared in 40 films between 1948 and 1970, including three films that were entered into the main competition 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 ...

. She appeared in films of multiple countries, including French, British, Italian, and American. As of 2025, she is believed to be among the last surviving leading ladies of the 1940s cinema.

Career

Anne Vernon made her film debut in the 1948 French-Belgian film '' The Murdered Model'', playing the supporting role of Irène. In 1949, she starred in the British romantic comedy '' Warning to Wantons'' opposite Harold Warrender. The same year, she starred in the French drama '' Thus Finishes the Night'' with Claude Dauphin. She appeared in her only American film in 1950, having a secondary role in the

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

Shakedown Shakedown or Shake Down may refer to: * Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation * Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational ...

''. Vernon continued being a leading lady throughout the 1950s across different genres in multiple countries. These include '' Edward and Caroline'', a French comedy film that competed at the 1951 Cannes Film Festival, and MGM British's 1953 production ''

Time Bomb A time bomb (or a timebomb, time-bomb) is a bomb whose detonation is triggered by a timer. The use or attempted use of time bombs has been for various purposes including insurance fraud, terrorism, assassination, sabotage and warfare. They are a ...

'', a film noir where she played the wife of

Glenn Ford Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006), known as Glenn Ford, was a Canadian-born American actor. He was most prominent during Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-office draws of th ...

's character. In 1955, she starred in an Eastern German film called '' Das Fräulein von Scuderi''. She had a supporting role in the Italian-French drama '' General Della Rovere'', which won the

Golden Lion The Golden Lion () is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguished prizes. In 1970, a ...

at the 1959 Venice International Film Festival. She was in the 1958 short film ''La Joconde: Histoire d'une obsession'', which won the

Palme d'Or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

at the

1958 Cannes Film Festival The 11th Cannes Film Festival took place from 2 to 18 May 1958. French writer Marcel Achard served as Jury President for the main competition. The '' Palme d'Or'' was awarded to '' The Cranes Are Flying'' by Mikhail Kalatozov. Juries The follo ...

. In 1964, Vernon played the mother of

Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress. She is considered one of the greatest European actresses on film. In 2020, ''The New York Times'' ranked her as one of th ...

's character Geneviève in the French-West German musical ''

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg ''The Umbrellas of Cherbourg'' () is a 1964 musical romantic drama film written and directed by Jacques Demy, with music by Michel Legrand. Catherine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuovo star as two young lovers in the French city of Cherbourg, separate ...

''. The film won the

at the

1964 Cannes Film Festival The 17th Cannes Film Festival took place from 29 April to 14 May 1964. Austrian filmmaker Fritz Lang served as jury president for the main competition. On this edition, the ''Palme d’Or'' was renamed "''Grand Prix du Festival International du ...

. In the United States, it was nominated for five

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

s, including Best Foreign-Language Film,

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...

(Demy), and Best Original Score (Demy and Legrand). The film's main theme, " I Will Wait for You", was nominated for Best Original Song. It was later adapted into an English-language

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

. In 2018, a

BBC Culture BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and BBC Sport, Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, t ...

critics' poll ranked the film in the Top 100 Greatest Non-English Films of All Time. By the late 1960s, Vernon's film career had slowed down. Her last film role was in the erotic drama '' Therese and Isabelle'' (1968). She, however, continued to work in various television series and

TV movies A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrest ...

Personal life

Vernon was married three times. She married politician Robert Badinter in 1957. They divorced in 1965. Her second husband was René Gainville, a film director to whom she was married between 1970-1975. In 1988, she married Jean-Pierre Prouteau, a marriage that lasted for ten years until his death in 1998. Vernon celebrated her 100th birthday on 9 January 2024, making her a

centenarian A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100. Because life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarian ...

Filmography

Television

* ''Reves d'amour'' (aka Dreams of Love) (1962) (TV Movie) * ''Le Tartuffe'' (1962) (TV Movie) * ''Dernier Amour'' (1963) (TV Movie) * ''

Bonjour Tristesse ''Bonjour Tristesse'' () is a novel by Françoise Sagan. Published in 1954, when the author was only 18, it was an overnight sensation. The title is derived from a poem by Paul Éluard, "À peine défigurée", which begins with the lines "Adieu ...

'' (1965) (TV Movie) * ''Illusions Perdues'' (aka Lost Illusions) (1965) (TV Series) * ''Malican peres et fils'' (1967) (TV Series) * ''Au Theatre ce Soir'' (1969) (TV Series) * ''Le Cyborg ou Le Voyage Vertical'' (1970) (TV Movie) * '' Mauregard'' (1970) (TV Series) * ''Les Dernieres volontes de Richard Lagrange'' (TV Series) (1972) * ''Pont Dormant'' (1972) (TV Series)

References

External links

* 1924 births Living people French film actresses Actors from Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis Actresses from Île-de-France 20th-century French actresses {{france-film-actor-1920s-stub