Brigitte Lahaie
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Brigitte Lahaie (born Brigitte Lucie Jeanine Van Meerhaeghe; 12 October 1955) is a French
radio talk show Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, interviews wi ...
host, mainstream film actress and former pornographic actress. She performed in erotic films from 1976 through 1980 and is a member of the
XRCO Hall of Fame The XRCO Hall of Fame lists well-known adult entertainment works and workers. The list is managed by X-Rated Critics Organization and inducted annually during the XRCO Awards. The first XRCO Awards were presented in Hollywood on February 14, 198 ...
.


Early life and background

Brigitte Lucie Jeanine Van Meerhaeghe was born in
Tourcoing Tourcoing (; ; ; ) is a city in northern France on the Belgian border. It is designated municipally as a commune within the department of Nord. Located to the north-northeast of Lille, adjacent to Roubaix, Tourcoing is the chef-lieu of two ca ...
, France. She left home for Paris when 18 years old, where she started working as a shoe salesgirl. Soon, she was noticed for her physique and accepted a proposal to pose in the nude for erotic magazines.


Cinema


Porn

She started working in the adult film industry in 1976, one year after the legalization of hardcore pornography in France, as "Brigitte Lahaie" and various other
stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...
s. In her first film she was a
body double In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes for another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...
for some of another actress' scenes. Lahaie eventually played in more than one hundred erotic films, most of them hardcore, directed by among many others, Claude Mulot,
José Bénazéraf José Bénazéraf (8 January 1922 – 1 December 2012) was a French filmmaker and producer who specialised in erotic films. Life and career Bénazéraf was born in Casablanca, French Morocco on 8 January 1922. After completing his studies ...
, , , and . She chose to be listed as "Brigitte Lahaie" in most of them, her surname a transfer to French of her Flemish name "vanmeerhaeghe", in which "haeghe" means "hedge", since "la haie" is "the hedge" in French.Biography & Interview
, Brigitte Lahaie official website


Horror

While she was still working in the adult-movie industry, Jean Rollin, who had directed her in the porn film ''Vibrations Sensuelles'' (''Sensual Vibrations'') in 1976, noticed Lahaie's "distinctly different personality," as he later recalled, and thought she had "incredible charisma." He offered her a role in his 1978 mainstream film, '' Les Raisins de la Mort'' (''The Grapes of Death''), the first gore film produced in France, with
Marie-Georges Pascal Marie-Georges Pascal (born Marie-Georges Charlotte Faisy; October 2, 1946 – November 9, 1985) was a French film, television
in the leading role. He then made her the protagonist of his next film, '' Fascination'', in 1979.


Mainstream

Lahaie appeared in '' I as in Icarus'' (1980), which starred
Yves Montand Ivo Livi (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), better known as Yves Montand (), was an Italian-born French actor and singer. He is said to be one of France's greatest 20th-century artists. Early life Montand was born Ivo Livi in Stignano, a ...
, playing a
stripper A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at private events. Modern forms of stripping m ...
, in ''
For a Cop's Hide ''To Kill a Cop'' () is a 1981 French crime-thriller film starring and directed by Alain Delon. It was Delon's directorial debut. It had admissions of 2,377,084 in France.Alain Delon Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; 8 November 1935 – 18 August 2024) was a French actor, film producer, screenwriter, singer, and businessman. Acknowledged as a cultural and cinematic leading man of the 20th century, Delon emerged as one of ...
, in the role of a
nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...
. She continued to also make softcore and Nazi exploitation movies as well as " video nasties" during this time. In 1987, she played a singer in
Michel Denisot Michel Maurice Daniel Denisot (; born 16 April 1945)Michel Denisot
on ''premiere.fr''.
is a F ...
's television special "La Plus Belle Nuit du Cinéma" ("The Most Beautiful Night of the Cinema"), transmitted from the Zénith. The same year, she recorded and released the single "Caresse tendresse" ("Caress tenderness"). According to a 2018 article in ''
Sight & Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (formerly written ''Sight & Sound'') is a monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). Since 1952, it has conducted the well-known decennial ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time. ...
'' about Jean Rollin, Lahaie plays in his '' La Nuit des Traquées'' (''Night of the Hunted'', 1980) the woman suffering from
amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or brain diseases,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be temporarily caused by t ...
with "devastating effect," while she is credited with "lovely, open, untutored performances" for her work in ''Les Raisins'' and ''Fascination''. Lahaie acted in several other mainstream films, including ''
Henry & June ''Henry & June'' is a 1990 American biographical drama film directed by Philip Kaufman, and starring Fred Ward, Uma Thurman, and Maria de Medeiros. It is loosely based on the posthumously published 1986 Anaïs Nin book of the same name, ...
'' (1990) and '' Calvaire'' (2004).


Books and radio

Throughout her career, Lahaie published several books, mostly
autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...
, as well as some novels. In the 2000s, she was often featured on the '' Les Grosses Têtes'' radio program, broadcast on RTL, while she was also, from 2001, the host of ''Lahaie, l'Amour et Vous'' on Radio Monte Carlo, a daily talk show from 14:00 to 16:00 that dealt mostly with love and sex. The show ended in 2016, with the station praising her work on the subject of sexuality as "unique" in terms of success and longevity.


Personal life

Lahaie has no children. She is a fan of
equestrianism Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding ( Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...
, an interest reportedly first inspired when she saw the film '' White Mane'' as a teenager. She commentated live on the equestrian events at the
2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
for RMC.


Sexual violence and consent

In the aftermath of the
Harvey Weinstein scandal In October 2017, ''The New York Times'' and ''The New Yorker'' reported that dozens of women had accused the American film producer Harvey Weinstein of rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse over a period of at least 30 years. Over 80 women in ...
and the subsequent
Me Too movement #MeToo is a social movement and Consciousness raising, awareness campaign against sexual abuse, sexual harassment and rape culture, in which women publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was init ...
, one hundred women in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
signed, on 9 January 2018, a public declaration in which they denounced what they claimed was a return to "puritanism" that "actually serves the interests of the enemies of sexual freedom, the religious extremists, the worst
reactionaries In politics, a reactionary is a person who favors a return to a previous state of society which they believe possessed positive characteristics absent from contemporary.''The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought'' Third Edition, (1999) p. 729. ...
." Lahaie was a co-signatory of that declaration, along with other celebrities such as
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 ...
,
Ingrid Caven Ingrid Caven (born 3 August 1938) is a German film actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in several films directed by her husband, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, including '' Love Is Colder Than Death'' (1969), '' Why Does Herr R. Run Am ...
, and
Catherine Millet Catherine Millet (; born 1 April 1948) is a French writer, art critic, curator, and founder and editor of the magazine ''Art Press'', which focuses on modern art and contemporary art. Biography Born in Bois-Colombes, France, she is best known ...
. Lahaie went on a TV debate the same evening, where she stated that women could have an
orgasm Orgasm (from Greek , ; "excitement, swelling"), sexual climax, or simply climax, is the sudden release of accumulated sexual excitement during the sexual response cycle, characterized by intense sexual pleasure resulting in rhythmic, involu ...
when being
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...
d. A few months later, in May, Lahaie stated, in interviews and on television, that her comment was "taken out of context," that she "does not regret t, and that she never supported non-consensual sex or violence of any kind against women.


Filmography


Film


Television


Short films


Bibliography

* * * * * *


See also

*
Golden Age of Porn The term "Golden Age of Porn", or "porno chic", refers to a 15-year period (1969–1984) in commercial American pornography, in which sexually explicit films experienced positive attention from mainstream cinemas, movie critics, and the genera ...
* List of porn stars who appeared in mainstream films


References


Further reading

*


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lahaie, Brigitte French pornographic film actresses French film actresses French radio presenters French women radio presenters 1955 births Living people People from Tourcoing Actresses from Hauts-de-France 20th-century French actresses