Catherine Deneuve (French , born 22 October 1943)
is a
French actress. She gained
recognition for her portrayal of aloof, mysterious beauties for
various directors, including
Luis
Buñuel and
Roman Polanski.
Deneuve won two
CĂ©sar Awards for
her performances in
Le Dernier
MĂ©tro (1980) and
Indochine (1992). She has also
received
BAFTA and
Academy Award nominations for Best Actress. In
2008, she appeared in her 100th film,
Un conte de Noël.
Early life and film career
Deneuve
was born Catherine Fabienne Dorléac in Paris
, as the
third of four daughters to French stage and screen actor Maurice Dorléac and actress Renée
Deneuve.
Deneuve was 13 when she began her film career with a small role in
Les Collégiennes
(1956), subsequently working in several films including under
director
Roger Vadim. The film that
brought her to stardom was
Jacques
Demy's 1964 musical
Les Parapluies de
Cherbourg, which led to additional prominent roles in
Roman Polanski's
Repulsion (1965) and
Luis Buñuel's
Belle de Jour (1967). In the Polanski
film, Deneuve first portrayed the character archetype for which she
would be nicknamed the "ice maiden", an emotionally distant and
mysterious woman; her work for Buñuel would be her most famous. She
also appeared in
Jacques Demy's musical
Les Demoiselles de
Rochefort (1967), with her elder sister,
Françoise Dorléac.
Deneuve remained active in European films during the 1960s and the
1970s, though she limited her appearances in American movies of the
period to
The April Fools
(1969) and
Hustle (1975). Her
starring roles at the time were featured in such films as
Tristana (1970, again with Buñuel)
and
A Slightly
Pregnant Man (1973, opposite
Marcello Mastrioanni). In the 1980s,
Deneuve's films included
François
Truffaut's
Le
Dernier métro (1980, which garnered her the César Award
for Best Actress) and
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).
In the early 1990s, Deneuve's more significant roles included
1992's
Indochine (which
garnered her a second
CĂ©sar Award
for Best Actress, and an Academy Award nomination for Best
Actress); and
André
Téchiné's two movies,
Ma saison
préférée (1993) and
Les
Voleurs (1995).
In 1994 she was Vice President on the jury of
the Cannes Film
Festival
. In 1996, Deneuve joined the documentary
L'Univers de Jacques
Demy, to show tribute to the director who made the film
that brought her to fame. In 1998, she won acclaim and the
Volpi Cup at the
Venice Film Festival for her
performance in
Place
VendĂ´me. 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
Le vent de la nuit.
In 2000, Deneuve's part in
Lars von
Trier's musical drama
Dancer in the Dark alongside
Icelandic singer
Björk was subject to
considerable critical scrutiny. The film was selected for the
Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
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. In 2006, she headed the jury at the
Venice Film Festival. Deneuve continues
to work steadily making at least two or three films per year.
Career outside of film
Modeling
Deneuve is considered designer
Yves Saint Laurent's muse; he
dressed her in the films
Belle de
Jour,
La
Chamade,
La Sirène du
Mississippi,
Liza, and
The Hunger.
Deneuve was the face of
Chanel No.
5 in the 1970s and caused sales of the
perfume to soar in the United States so much so that the American
press, captivated by her charm, nominated her as the world's most
elegant woman.
Her image was used to represent
Marianne,
the national symbol of France, from 1985 to 1989.
In 1992, Deneuve became a model for
Yves Saint Laurent's 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. Deneuve and
Make-up
Art Cosmetics closely collaborated on the colour collection
that became available at M•A•C locations worldwide in February
2006.
In late 2007, Deneuve began appearing in the new
Louis Vuitton luggage advertisements.
Entrepreneurial
Deneuve introduced her own perfume,
Deneuve, in 1986. She
is also a designer of glasses, shoes, jewelry and greeting
cards.
Charities
- Deneuve was appointed UNESCO
Goodwill Ambassador for the Safeguarding
of Film Heritage in 1994. On 12 November 2003, she resigned her
position as Goodwill Ambassador at UNESCO to protest the nomination
of French businessman Pierre Falcone
as the Angola
representative, which enables him to escape justice and
investigation for illegal arms dealing.
- Deneuve asked that the rights owed to her from her
representation of Marianne be given to Amnesty International.
- 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 (Manifeste des 343
salopes, Manifest of the 343 bitches). The manifesto was an
admission by its signers to have practiced 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.
- 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 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.
Personal life
Deneuve has three sisters: the actress
Françoise Dorléac (who died in a
car crash on 26 June 1967), Sylvie Dorléac and Danielle
Dorléac.
Deneuve speaks fluent French, Italian, English and is semi-fluent
in German. Her hobbies and passions include gardening, drawing,
photography, reading, music, cinema, fashion, antiques and
decoration.
Deneuve's only marriage was from 1965 to 1972 with photographer
David Bailey. The couple
divorced in 1972 but remained friends. She has had relationships
with director
Roger Vadim, director
François Truffaut, actor
Marcello Mastroianni, and
Canal+ tycoon
Pierre Lescure.
Deneuve has two children: actor
Christian Vadim, from her relationship with
Roger Vadim, and actress
Chiara Mastroianni, from her relationship
with Marcello Mastroianni.
Filmography
Discography
- Souviens Toi De M'oublier (1981)
Awards and nominations
CĂ©sar Awards
Academy Awards
| Year |
Award |
Film |
Result |
| 1993 |
Best Actress |
Indochine |
Nominated |
BAFTA Awards
Other Awards
See also
References
- http://movies.msn.com: Catherine Deneuve
Biography
- www.answers.com: Catherine Deneuve Biography
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Catherine Deneuve. Retrieved on
2008-11-25.
- http://toutsurdeneuve.free.fr: 2003 www.imdb.com: Cannes
Film Festival 1994
- Chanel ad campaign, USA 1975
- http://toutsurdeneuve.free.fr: 2003 www.gala.fr:
Catherine Deneuve resigns from UNESCO
- toutsurdeneuve.free.fr: Politique
- www.rsf.org: Why we take so much interest in Cuba,
by Reporters Without Borders
- www.gala.fr: Catherine Deneuve Bio
- www.stopclustermunitions.org: Press Release ATS
Genève (SWITZERLAND) 9 November 2005
- www.vivathlon.tm.fr: HANDICAP INTERNATIONAL ENTRE
EN CAMPAGNE CHIC ET CHOC CONTRE LES BOMBES A
SOUS-MUNITIONS
- www.audible.fr: Voix de femmes pour la
démocratie
- Text of the Manifesto of the 343 with list of
signatories, on the Nouvel Observateur's website
- www.imdb.com: Catherine Deneuve Biography
- Catherine Deneuve at Hollywood.com
- Catherine Deneuve - Souviens-Toi De M'Oublier (CD)
at Discogs Retrieved on 2009-04-12.
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