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 the greatest actors of the 21st century.

Deneuve made her screen debut in 1957 at age 13, in a film shot the previous year when she was only 12. A major figure of the New Wave, she became, like Brigitte Bardot and Alain Delon, one of the best-known French artists in the world. In a career spanning nearly 70 years, she has played more than a hundred roles and is recognized in France and internationally for being one of the key faces of the musical film genre with appearances in '' The Umbrellas of Cherbourg'', '' The Young Girls of Rochefort,'' '' Donkey Skin'', ''8 Women'' and '' The Beloved.'' Early in her career, she gained acclaim for her portrayals of aloof and mysterious beauties while working for well-known directors such as Luis Buñuel, François Truffaut, Jacques Demy, Roman Polanski, and Agnès Varda.Catherine Deneuve Biography
. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. She played in films attracting a total of nearly 99 million spectators in theaters, making her the working actress with the most admissions in France. In 1985, she succeeded Mireille Mathieu as the official face of Marianne, France's national symbol of liberty.

She has received numerous accolades over her career including two César Awards and the Venice Film Festival's Volpi Cup for Best Actress as well as nominations for an Academy Award and BAFTA Award. She has received honorary awards, including the Berlin International Film Festival's Golden Bear in 1998, the Cannes Film Festival's Honorary Palme d'Or in 2005, and the Venice Film Festival's Golden Lion in 2022.

Early life

Deneuve was born Catherine Fabienne Dorléac in Paris, the daughter of French stage actors and Nazi collaborators Maurice Dorléac and Renée Simonot. Deneuve had two sisters, Françoise Dorléac (21 March 1942 – 26 June 1967) and Sylvie Dorléac (born 14 December 1946),Catherine Deneuve
at Yahoo! Movies as well as a maternal half-sister, Danièle, whom their mother had out of wedlock in 1936 with Aimé Clariond. Deneuve used her mother's maiden name, which she chose for her stage name, in order to differentiate herself from her sisters. Deneuve attended Catholic schools.

Film career

1957–1970: Breakthrough and acclaim

Deneuve made her film debut with a small role in André Hunebelle's ''Les Collégiennes'' (1957) with her younger sister Sylvie Dorléac who, like their older half-sister Daniele, was an occasional child actress. She subsequently appeared in several films for director Roger Vadim as well as in (1960), which caught the eye of Jacques Demy, who cast Deneuve as Geneviève Emery in his romantic film musical '' The Umbrellas of Cherbourg'' (1964), the film that brought her to stardom. The film received critical acclaim winning the Palme d'Or at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival. '' Variety'' praised her performance, writing, "Catherine Deneuve, a winsome-looking type that other directors have forced to act, here is allowed to be herself. She etches a fine portrait of a 16-year-old in love." The same year she acted in several films including the anthology film '' The World's Most Beautiful Swindlers'' in a segment directed by Claude Chabrol and the comedy '' Male Hunt'' directed by Édouard Molinaro.

In her English-language debut, Deneuve played the cold but erotic persona, for which she would be nicknamed the "ice maiden", in Roman Polanski's psychological horror thriller '' Repulsion'' (1965). For her performance she was nominated for the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress. Peter Bradshaw of ''The Guardian'' wrote, "Catherine Deneuve's glassy stare of anxiety dominates the movie" comparing her to Janet Leigh in '' Psycho'' (1960). In 1966 she starred in the Agnès Varda fantasy film '' Les Créatures'' and Jean-Paul Rappeneau's ''A Matter of Resistance''. The following year, she reunited with Demy for another musical '' The Young Girls of Rochefort'' (1967) acting alongside George Chakiris and Gene Kelly. She played a twin to her real-life older sister, Françoise Dorléac (as Solange), in what would be their only film together, Dorléac died in a car accident a few months after the movie opened. That same year she starred in Luis Buñuel's psychological erotic drama '' Belle de Jour'' (1967). Deneuve stars as a young woman who spends her midweek afternoons as a high-class prostitute, while her husband is at work. For her performance, she received a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Melissa Anderson writing for Criterion declared, "Deneuve's performance in ''Belle de jour'' turned out to be one of her most iconic".

In 1969, Deneuve starred in Stuart Rosenberg's American romantic comedy film '' The April Fools'', starring opposite Jack Lemmon. That same year she acted in François Truffaut's romantic crime drama '' Mississippi Mermaid'' acting alongside Jean-Paul Belmondo. ''The New York Times'' film critic Vincent Canby praised the film writing, "As in all of Truffaut's films, love leads only to an uncertain future that, at best, may contain some joy along with the inevitable misery. Truffaut's special talent, however, is for communicating a sense of the value of that joy." She reunited with Buñel for the drama '' Tristana'' (1970) acting alongside Fernando Rey and Franco Nero. Her work for Buñuel would be her best known. That same year, she reunited with Jacques Demy for the musical fantasy '' Donkey Skin'' (1970) based on the 1965 fairy tale of the same name by Charles Perrault. Roger Ebert praised the film writing, "It provides a visual feast and fanciful imaginations, and Deneuve was then, as she was before and since, a great beauty with the confidence such beauty requires."

1971–1989: Established actress

In 1971, Deneuve starred in Nadine Trintignant's '' It Only Happens to Others'' opposite Marcello Mastroianni. She also starred in Marco Ferreri's Italian drama '' Liza'' (1972), Jean-Pierre Melville's French crime film ''Un flic'' (1972), and Jacques Demy's French comedy '' A Slightly Pregnant Man'' (1973). She starred in Robert Aldrich's crime film '' Hustle'' (1975) with Burt Reynolds. Gene Siskel of the ''Chicago Tribune'' awarded a full four stars out of four and wrote that "violence takes a back seat to character development and storytelling techniques that are classical. ''Hustle'' is the kind of picture you don't want to see end. It's going to be a cult favorite." That same year, she acted in Jean-Paul Rappeneau's adventure film '' Le Sauvage'' (1975) with Yves Montand. The following year, she acted in Claude Lelouch's '' Second Chance'' (1976).

In the 1980s, Deneuve's films included François Truffaut's '' Le Dernier métro'' (1980) with Gérard Depardieu for which she won the César Award for Best Actress and the David di Donatello Award for Best Actress. She gained acclaim for her role in Tony Scott's '' The Hunger'' (1983) as a bisexual vampire, co-starring with David Bowie and Susan Sarandon, a role which brought her a significant lesbian following, mostly among the gothic subculture. During this time, she received César Award for Best Actress nominations for her roles in André Téchiné's romantic drama '' Hotel America'' (1981), Jean-Pierre Mocky's French drama film '' Agent trouble'' (1987), and François Dupeyron's drama '' Drôle d'endroit pour une rencontre'' (1988). The later of which she also served as a producer, and starred alongside frequent co-star Gérard Depardieu.

1990–present

In the early 1990s, Deneuve's more significant roles included 1992's '' Indochine'' opposite Vincent Perez, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress and won a second César Award for Best Actress; and André Téchiné's two films, ''Ma saison préférée'' (1993) and '' Les Voleurs'' (1996). In 1997, Deneuve was the protagonist in the music video for the song ''N'Oubliez Jamais'' sung by Joe Cocker. In 1998, she won acclaim and the Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival for her performance in ''Place Vendôme''. In the late 1990s, Deneuve continued to appear in a large number of films such as 1999's five films '' Est-Ouest'', '' Le temps retrouvé'', '' Pola X'', '' Belle maman'', and '' Night Wind.''

Deneuve's part in Lars von Trier's musical drama ''Dancer in the Dark'' (2000), alongside Icelandic singer Björk was subject to considerable critical scrutiny. The film was selected for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. She made another foray into Hollywood the following year, starring in '' The Musketeer'' (2001) for Peter Hyams. In 2002, she shared the Silver Bear Award for Best Ensemble Cast at the Berlin International Film Festival for her performance in ''8 Women''. In 2005, Deneuve published her diary ''A l'ombre de moi-meme'' ("In My Own Shadow", published in English as ''Close Up and Personal: The Private Diaries of Catherine Deneuve''); in it she writes about her experiences shooting the films '' Indochine'' and ''Dancer in the Dark''. She also provided the voice role of Marjane Satrapi's mother in Satrapi's animated autobiographical film ''Persepolis'' (2007), based on the graphic novel of the same name.

Her 100th film appearance was in '' Un conte de Noël'' released in 2008. Deneuve's later work includes '' Potiche'' (2010) with frequent co-star Depardieu, '' Beloved'' (2011), alongside former co-stars Ludivine Sagnier and Chiara Mastroianni, the popular French adventure comedy '' Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia'' (2012) with Gérard Depardieu and Valérie Lemercier, screenwriter and director Emmanuelle Bercot's '' On My Way'' (2013), Palme d'Or winning writer/director Pierre Salvadori's comedy drama '' In the Courtyard'' (2014), and André Téchiné's drama '' In the Name of My Daughter'' (2014). She co-starred alongside Catherine Frot, in writer/director Martin Provost's French drama '' The Midwife'' (2017).

Career outside film

Modeling

Deneuve appeared nude in two ''Playboy'' pictorials in 1963 and 1965. Her image was used to represent Marianne, the national symbol of France, from 1985 to 1989. As the face of Chanel No. 5 in the late 1970s, she caused sales of the perfume to soar in the United Statesso much so that the American press, captivated by her charm, nominated her as the world's most elegant woman. In 1983, American Home Products retained her to represent their cosmetics line and hired world-renowned photographer Richard Avedon to promote its line of ''Youth Garde'' cosmetics, for which she famously proclaimed, "Look closely. Next year, I will be 40."

She is considered the muse of designer Yves Saint Laurent; he dressed her in the films '' Belle de Jour'', '' La Chamade'', '' La sirène du '', ''Un flic'', '' Liza'', and '' The Hunger''. In 1992, she became a model for his skincare line.
In 2001, she was chosen as the new face of L'Oréal Paris. In 2006, Deneuve became the third inspiration for the M•A•C Beauty Icon series and collaborated on the colour collection that became available at M•A•C locations worldwide in February that year. Deneuve began appearing in the new Louis Vuitton luggage advertisements in 2007. Deneuve was listed as one of the fifty best-dressed over 50s by the ''Guardian'' in March 2013. In July 2017, Deneuve appeared in a video campaign for Louis Vuitton entitled ''Connected Journeys'', celebrating the launch of the brand's Tambour Horizon smartwatch, which also featured celebrities, including Jennifer Connelly, Bae Doona, Jaden Smith and Miranda Kerr.

Entrepreneurial

In 1986, Deneuve introduced her own perfume, ''Deneuve''. She is also a designer of glasses, shoes, jewelry and greeting cards. In 2005, she launched a limited-edition makeup collection for MAC Cosmetics. For the Catherine Deneuve eyewear line, she has had licensing agreements with Viva International (from 1989) and Marcolin (2014–2019) for the design, production and distribution of sunglasses and optical frames.

Charities

* Deneuve was appointed UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the Safeguarding of Film Heritage in 1994 until her resignation on 12 November 2003.
* Deneuve asked that the rights owed to her from her representation of Marianne be given to Amnesty International."Amnesty International et lutte contre la peine de mort"
Tout sur Deneuve
* Louis Vuitton made a donation to The Climate Project, spearheaded by Al Gore, on behalf of Deneuve.
* Deneuve is also involved with Children Action, Children of Africa, Orphelins Roumains and Reporters Without Borders.
* Douleur sans frontiers (Pain Without Borders) – At the end of 2003, Deneuve recorded a radio commercial to encourage donations to fight against the pain in the world, notably for the victims of landmines.
* Handicap International – In the middle of July 2005, Deneuve lent her voice to the message of radio commercials, TV and cinema, which denounced the use of the BASM ( cluster bombs).
* ''Voix de femmes pour la démocratie'' (Voice of women for democracy) – Deneuve read the text, "Le petit garçon", of Jean-Lou Dabadie, on the entitled CD, "Voix de femmes pour la démocratie." The CD was sold for the benefit of the female victims of the war and the fundamentalisms that fight for democracy.
* Deneuve has also been involved with various charities in the fight against AIDS and cancer.

Political involvement

* In 1971, Deneuve signed the Manifesto of the 343. The manifesto was an admission by its signers to have had illegal abortions, and therefore exposed themselves to judicial actions and prison sentences. It was published in ''Le Nouvel Observateur'' on 5 April 1971. That same year, feminist lawyer Gisèle Halimi founded the group, Choisir ("To Choose"), to protect the women who had signed the Manifesto of the 343.
* Deneuve is involved with Amnesty International's program to abolish the death penalty.
* In 2001, Deneuve delivered a petition organized by the French-based group, "Together Against the death penalty", to the U.S. Embassy in Paris.
* In April 2007, Deneuve signed a petition on the internet protesting against the "misogynous" treatment of socialist presidential candidate Ségolène Royal. More than 8,000 French men and women signed the petition, including French actress Jeanne Moreau.
*In 2011, among other French celebrities Deneuve signed a petition asking the future President of France to propose a vote at the United Nations General Assembly to decriminalize homosexuality worldwide.
* In January 2018, Deneuve, along with 99 other French women writers, performers and academics, signed an open letter that argued the #MeToo movement had gone too far, turning into a "witch hunt", and denounced it as a form of puritanism, resulting in a backlash. Though she later apologized to all the victims who felt offended by the letter, she defended her involvement by saying there was "nothing in the letter" to ''Le Monde'' that said "anything good about harassment, otherwise hewouldn't have signed it".

Personal life

Besides her native French, Deneuve speaks fluent Italian and English, and has some knowledge of Spanish. Her hobbies and passions include gardening, drawing, photography, reading, music, cinema, fashion, antiques and decoration. According to a 1996 ''The New York Times'' article, she is a practising Roman Catholic.

For decades, Deneuve has had an apartment on Place Saint-Sulpice in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. From 1989 to 2014, she also owned Château de Primard, a mansion in Guainville.

Marriage and family

Deneuve has been married once, to photographer David Bailey from 1965 to 1972, though they separated in 1967. She has lived with director Roger Vadim, actor Marcello Mastroianni, cinematographer Hugh Johnson, and Canal+ tycoon Pierre Lescure.

Deneuve has two children: actor Christian Vadim (born 18 June 1963), from her relationship with Roger Vadim, and actress Chiara Mastroianni (born 28 May 1972), from her relationship with Marcello Mastroianni. She has five grandchildren. Deneuve has not had a public relationship since her breakup with Lescure in 1991, with whom she remains friends; Deneuve's two children consider him their stepfather. According to ''Gala'', in late 2019 Deneuve relied on Lescure while she recuperated from a stroke. In 2020, she told ''Paris Match'' that the two still talk to each other every day.

Relationships

Throughout her 20s and 30s, Deneuve reportedly dated actors Sami Frey, Clint Eastwood, Franco Nero, Burt Reynolds and John Travolta as well as directors Roman Polanski, Jerry Schatzberg, François Truffaut and Milos Forman, talent agent , singer Serge Gainsbourg, though she denies an intimate relationship with Gainsbourg. She is also rumoured to have had a brief relationship with TV host .

In recent decades, Deneuve's highly private life has prompted speculation about her sexual orientation, which she acknowledged in a 2002 interview with '' Knack'' magazine: "Now that people know nothing about my private life, they start guessing: is there still a man in her life and who is he then? When they see me two or three times with a female friend they say: we've always known that." Reports from 2000 said her beau was a 25-year-old technician she had met on a recent film, but no writer could identify him. In 2006, Deneuve told ''The Daily Telegraph'' that she was in a relationship, though she did not disclose his name.

A 2020 biography of Johnny Hallyday by Gilles Lhote says the singer maintained a carefully hidden, 56-year affair with Deneuve that started when they were teenagers in 1961 and continued until Hallyday's death in 2017.

Deneuve was a close friend of the artist Nall, and owns some of his works.

Health

On 6 November 2019, BBC News reported that Deneuve suffered a mild stroke and was recuperating in a Paris hospital. Despite the health scare, there was no damage to her motor functions. Five weeks later, she was released from hospital, and spent the remainder of 2019 recuperating at her Paris home.

Deneuve began smoking in 1960 at age 16, and has been known to smoke up to three packs a day. She quit in 1985 with the aid of hypnotherapy, but started again in 1996. She quit again after her 2019 stroke, but by 2025, had resumed the habit using an electronic cigarette.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and honors

Deneuve has received numerous accolades including two César Award for Best Actress for her performances in '' The Last Metro'' (1980), and '' Indochine'' (1992). A 14-time César Award nominee, she won for her performances in Truffaut's '' The Last Metro'' (1980), for which she also won the David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actress, and Régis Wargnier's '' Indochine'' (1992). She received nominations for an Academy Award for Best Actress for ''Indochine'' and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress for '' Belle de Jour'' (1968). She received the Venice Film Festival's Volpi Cup for Best Actress for her role in ''Place Vendôme'' (1998). She also received numerous honorary accolades including the Berlin International Film Festival's Golden Bear in 1998 and the Venice Film Festival's Golden Lion in 2022.

In 2000, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to her. In 2013, she was honored for her lifetime achievement at the 26th European Film Awards. In 2015, she received the Lifetime Achievement Golden Orange Award from International Antalya Film Festival, Turkey. In 2020, ''The New York Times'' ranked her number 21 in its list of the 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century.

Discography

* 1980:
** ''Dieu fumeur de havanes'' – by and with Serge Gainsbourg (original film soundtrack '' Je vous aime'' by Claude Berri)
** ''Quand on s'aime'' – duet with Gérard Depardieu, for a television programme
* 1981: Her first and only album issued – ''Souviens-toi de m'oublier'' written by Serge Gainsbourg
# Digital delay
# Depression au-dessus du jardin
# Epsilon
# Monna Vanna et Miss Duncan
# Marine bond tremolo
# Ces petits riens (duet with Serge Gainsbourg) – original version performed by Gainsbourg and Juliette Gréco (1964)
# Souviens-toi de m'oublier (duet with Serge Gainsbourg)
# Overseas telegram
# What tu dis qu'est-ce tu say
# Oh Soliman
# Alice helas
* 1993: ''Paris Paris'' – by and with Malcolm McLaren
* 1997: ''Allo maman bobo'' – by Alain Souchon, during an evening with Les Enfoirés in 1997 with Alain Souchon, Jean-Jacques Goldman and Laurent Voulzy
* 1999: ''Joyeux anniversaire maman'' – by Stomy Bugsy (original film soundtrack '' Belle-maman'' by Gabriel Aghion)
* 2000: ''Cvalda'' – by and with Björk (included in '' Selmasongs'', the soundtrack for ''Dancer in the dark'' by Lars von Trier)
* 2001: ''Toi jamais'' – original film soundtrack '' Huit Femmes'' by François Ozon (original version performed by Sylvie Vartan en 1976)
* 2006: '' Ho capito che ti amo'' – original film soundtrack '' Le héros de la famille'' by Thierry Klifa
* 2010: ''C'est beau la vie'' by Jean Ferrat – original film soundtrack '' Potiche'' by François Ozon
* 2011: ''Tout est si calme'' with Clara Couste, Ludivine Sagnier and Chiara Mastroianni, ''Une fille légère in duet'' with Chiara Mastroianni, ''Je ne peux vivre sans t'aimer'' – original film soundtrack '' Beloved'' by Christophe Honoré
* Audiobooks for Éditions des Femmes:
** '' Cendrillon'' by Charles Perrault
** ''Bonjour tristesse'' by Françoise Sagan
** '' Les Petits Chevaux de Tarquinia'' by Marguerite Duras
** '' Les Paradis aveugles'' by Duong Thu Huong
** '' La Marquise d'O'' by Heinrich von Kleist
** '' Lettres à un jeune poète'' by Rainer Maria Rilke
** '' Letters Home'' by Sylvia Plath

See also

* Cinema of France
* History of cinema

References

Notes

Citations

External links

*

Catherine Deneuve
at filmsdefrance.com
*
*


(21 September 2005)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deneuve, Catherine
Living people
1943 births
20th-century French actresses
21st-century French actresses
Best Actress César Award winners
David di Donatello winners
Honorary Golden Bear recipients
Dorléac family
European Film Award for Best Actress winners
French activists
French women activists
French people of Norman descent
French Roman Catholics
French film actresses
Actresses from Paris
French television actresses
French anti–death penalty activists
Recipients of the Order of Agricultural Merit
Volpi Cup for Best Actress winners
Audiobook narrators
Signatories of the 1971 Manifesto of the 343
Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement recipients