Mireille Darc (; 15 May 1938 – 28 August 2017) was a French model and actress. She appeared as a lead character in Jean-Luc Godard's 1967 film ''

Weekend The weekdays and weekend are the complementary parts of the week, devoted to labour and rest, respectively. The legal weekdays (British English), or workweek (American English), is the part of the seven-day week devoted to working. In most o ...

''. Darc was a Knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

and Commander of the National Order of Merit.

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 ...

was her longtime co-star and companion.

Early years

Born Mireille Christiane Gabrielle Aimée Aigroz in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

, she attended the Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Toulon and moved to Paris in 1959.

Career

Darc's debuted in Claude Barma's television drama ''Du côté de l'enfer'' (aka, ''La Grande Brétèche'', 1960). Her first leading role came in another production for French television, Jean Prat's ''Hauteclaire'' (1961). She starred in

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French and Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as ...

's film ''

(Week-end'', 1967) as Corinne, her highest profile role for international critics; as Christine in '' The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (Le Grand Blond avec une chaussure noire'', 1972) and '' The Return of the Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (Le retour du grand blond'', 1974) and alongside

and Louis de Funès in several films: '' Pouic-Pouic'' (1963), ''High Lifers ( Les Bons Vivants'' (1965), ''

Jeff Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey. Music * DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes ...

'' (1969), '' Borsalino'' (uncredited, 1970), '' The Love Mates (Madly'', 1970), '' Icy Breasts (Les Seins de glace'', 1974), '' Death of a Corrupt Man (Mort d'un pourri'', 1977), ''

Man in a Hurry ''Man in a Hurry'' (, , released in UK as ''The Hurried Man'') is a 1977 French-Italian drama film directed by Édouard Molinaro and starring Alain Delon and Mireille Darc. It is based on the novel '' The Man in a Hurry'' by Paul Morand. It record ...

(L'Homme pressé'', 1977), and the television series ' (2003). In the 1980s, Darc's career was interrupted by open-heart surgery following a car accident, in which she was seriously injured, and her separation from Alain Delon after fifteen years together. She quit her film career, but she returned to television in the 1990s. In 2006, French President

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

awarded Darc the

Health and death

In 2013, Darc underwent further open heart surgery, and during 2016 she suffered several hemorrhages. She died on 28 August 2017 in Paris in a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...

at the age of 79.

Theatre

Filmography

Feature films

Short films

As director

French-language dubbing

Bibliography

*2008: ''Mon Père'' *2005: ''Tant que battra mon coeur'' (Autobiography) *1982: ''Jamais avant le mariage''

Decorations

* Officer of the Legion of Honour (2015), (Knight in 2006) * Commander of the National Order of Merit (2009)

References

External links

*
Mireille Darc Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darc, Mireille 1938 births 2017 deaths Actors from Toulon Actresses from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur French film actresses French female models Commanders of the Ordre national du Mérite French television actresses 20th-century French actresses 21st-century French actresses Officers of the Legion of Honour Models from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur