Brigitte Florence Fossey (; born 15 June 1946) is a French actress.

Early years

The daughter of a schoolteacher, Fossey was five years old when she was cast by director

René Clément René Clément (; 18 March 1913 – 17 March 1996) was a French film director and screenwriter. He is known for directing the films ''The Battle of the Rails'' (1946), ''Forbidden Games'' (1952), ''Gervaise (film), Gervaise'' (1956), ''Purple No ...

to star in his film, '' Forbidden Games''.Brigitte Fossey
Fossey played the role of an innocent child orphaned by

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The film won numerous awards worldwide, including the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

, and Fossey was hired by American actor/director

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

for his 1957 film, '' The Happy Road''. When Fossey was ten years old her parents took her out of the film business so she could receive proper schooling. While completing her education, Fossey studied piano and dance and then went on to work in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

as an

interpreter Interpreting is translation from a spoken or signed language into another language, usually in real time to facilitate live communication. It is distinguished from the translation of a written text, which can be more deliberative and make use o ...

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

Career

In 1967, at age twenty, after studying acting at Yves Furet "Studio d'Entrainement de l'Acteur" in Paris, Fossey was offered the female lead by director Jean-Gabriel Albicocco for his film ''Le Grand Meaulnes''. As an adult Fossey acted both on stage and in film, working with French directors such as

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French filmmaker, actor, and critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. He came under the tutelage of film critic Andre Bazin as a ...

and Bertrand Blier. Fluent in English, Fossey has appeared in several

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 ...

motion pictures, including a 1979 role as the wife of

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...

in the

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...

-directed film, '' Quintet''. In 1982, she was a member of the jury at the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival. During the 1990s, she began performing in television productions.

Personal life

Brigitte Fossey has a daughter from her marriage to director Jean-François Adam, whom she met while making his 1970 film '.

Awards and recognition

* 1977: Nominated for a César Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for '' Le bon et les méchants'' * 1978: Nominated for a

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

for '' Les Enfants du placard''

Selected filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fossey, Brigitte French film actresses French stage actresses French child actresses 1946 births Living people People from Tourcoing Actresses from Hauts-de-France