Charlotte Valandrey (29 November 1968 – 13 July 2022) was a French actress and author. After early success she was widely tipped for stardom, but her career took a more modest course until the release of her autobiography in 2005.
Early life
Born Anne-Charlotte Pascal into an affluent family, Valandrey grew up in
Brittany
Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
in north-western France. From the age of six she lived in the small coastal town of
Pléneuf-Val-André, from which she took her professional name in 1985.
Career
Valandrey's debut film was
Véra Belmont's 1985 political drama ''
Red Kiss'', in which she played Nadia. Her highly acclaimed performance as a young communist in 1950s Paris was rewarded with a
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 ...
nomination for "
Most Promising Actress" the following year but she eventually lost to
Charlotte Gainsbourg. She also won the
Silver Bear for Best Actress at the
36th Berlin International Film Festival
The 36th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held 14–25 February 1986. The festival opened with '' Ginger and Fred'' by Federico Fellini, which played out of competition at the festival.
The Golden Bear was awarded to West German ...
.
In 1986, she appeared in the music video for
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
's song "
As the World Falls Down" from the
soundtrack
A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
for the movie ''
Labyrinth
In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth () is an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the h ...
'' (1986), although the video went unreleased until 1993.
Personal life
After making her debut, at the age of sixteen, in the film ''
Red Kiss,'' she lived alone in a studio that her parents bought for her. Carefree and uninformed about the dangers involved, she had affairs with “a drug-addicted musician, and other boys at risk”. In 1986, a few days before her eighteenth birthday, she learned that she was
HIV-positive.
In 1999, she met Arthur Lecaisne with whom she married on 17 July 1999 at
Pléneuf-Val-André. At the beginning of 2000, they had a daughter, Tara who is
HIV-negative.
[Valandrey, Charlotte, ''L'Amour dans le sang, Le Cherche midi'', 9 September 2005, ()]
While separating from Arthur in 2002 and following a triple therapy which damaged her heart and caused her two heart attacks, her heart broke down, necrotic, and left her with only 10% heart capacity. On 4 November 2003, she received a transplant.
In March 2007, after selling over 280,000 copies of her book, Charlotte gave approval for its adaptation in the TV movie, ''L'Amour dans le sang''. Produced by
Dominique Besnehard for Mon Voisin Productions, it was first broadcast on 23 November 2008 on
France 3
France 3 () is a French free-to-air Public broadcasting, public television network. The second flagship network of France Télévisions, it broadcasts a wide range of general and specialized programming.
France 3 is structured as a Region ...
.
On 8 June 2022, she announced that she was waiting for a second heart transplant because of new health problems. She received it on 14 June at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital but the transplant did not take.
Charlotte Valandrey died on 13 July 2022, at the age of 53. Her funeral took place in
Pléneuf-Val-André.
In the press release announcing the death, the family indicates that a tribute would be paid to her in Paris in September.
Charlotte was a patron of the ''Greffe de vie'' ("Foundation of Life Registry") and was committed to the cause of organ donation and transplantation.
Filmography
Theater
Author
Dubbing
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valandrey, Charlotte
1968 births
2022 deaths
Actresses from Paris
French film actresses
French stage actresses
Silver Bear for Best Actress winners
Heart transplant recipients
People with HIV/AIDS
French autobiographers
20th-century French actresses
21st-century French actresses
French television actresses
Women autobiographers
Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres