Index
Biography >> Photo Gallery >> Film Poster Gallery >> The Hunger >> The Hunger Film Poster Gallery >> Key Dates >> Filmography >> Mailing Addresses >> Les Demoiselles de Rochefort >> The Umbrellas of Cherbourg >> 8 Femmes >> Catherine Deneuve Book & Magazine Covers - Smartphone Page >>Françoise Dorléac >> Deneuve Dvds Available @ amazon.co.uk
Biography
b. Catherine Fabienne Dorléac
The daughter of French stage and film actor Maurice Dorléac, Deneuve was born in Paris on October 22, 1943. She made her screen debut at the age of 13, with a role in the 1956 film Les Collegiennes, and went on to make a string of films with directors such as Roger Vadim (with whom she had a child) before getting her breakthrough role in Jacques Demy's charming musical, Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg).
The burst of stardom that accompanied her portrayal led to two of her archetypal ice maiden roles, first in Roman Polanski's terrifying Repulsion in 1965 and then in Buñuel's 1967 Belle de Jour. Deneuve's startling portrayal of an icy, sexually adventurous housewife in the latter film helped to establish her as one of the most remarkable and compelling actresses of her generation. She further demonstrated her talent that year in Demy's Umbrellas musical follow-up, Les Demoiselles de Rochefort, which she starred in with her sister, Françoise Dorléac.
Deneuve continued to work steadily through the 1960s and 1970s in films such as the 1970 Tristana (her second collaboration with Buñuel) and A Slightly Pregnant Man (1973), in which she starred with her lover at the time, Marcello Mastrioanni (who would father her daughter, the actress Chiara Mastrioanni).
Despite or perhaps because of her stardom, Deneuve chose to avoid Hollywood, limiting her appearances in American films to The April Fools (1969) and Hustle (1975). Tellingly, her most significant American screen work of that period was probably the series of commercials she did for Chanel perfume in the mid-'70s, which led to the creation of her own perfume a decade later. Deneuve also did prolific work through the 1980s, appearing in such films as François Truffaut's Le Dernier Métro (1980) and Tony Scott's The Hunger (1983). The latter film saw Deneuve playing a bisexual vampire alongside David Bowie and Susan Sarandon, and her performance won her an indelible cult status in the States among lesbians, goths, and artistically inclined teenage boys.
In the 1990s, Deneuve garnered further international acclaim for her roles in several films, including the 1992 film Indochine (for which she won a French Academy Award and a Best Actress Oscar nomination) and two films directed by André Téchiné in which she played Daniel Auteuil's sister, Ma Saison Préférée (1993) and Les Voleurs (1995). In 1996, she paid homage to the director who had first given her fame by taking part in the documentary L'Univers de Jacques Demy. Closing out the final years of the 1990's Deneuve remained consistantly working in numerous films (in 1999 alone she appeared in no less than six, including director Leos Carax's controversial Pola X) and continuing to turn in compelling performances.
In 2000 Deneuve received much critical attention when cast alongside eccentric Icelandic singer Bjork in the Lars von Trier's melancholy musical Dancer in the Dark. Though it polarized critics and audiences alike, Dancer nevertheless won the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival and continued von Trier's tradition of creating difficult and challanging films that, like them or not, always seem to provoke a strong response.
She shared the Silver Bear Award for Best Ensemble Cast at the Berlin International Film Festival for her performance in 8 Women (2002).
These days (2006) she spends much of her time gardening at her country house in Normandy. Her life is split between her apartment on the Left Bank in Paris, and Normandy. Her children, Christian, who is 42, and Chiara, 35, are both married and in the film industry.
She recently published a book, a diary called Close Up and Personal, which received mixed reviews.
In April 2007, she signed a petition on the internet protesting against the "misogynous" treatment of socialist presidential candidate Ségolène Royal.
She speaks fluent French, Italian, English and is semi-fluent in German.
Her 70th birthday in October 2013 was greeted with accolades. She remains one of the most alluring of actresses ever to grace the big screen.
Quote:-
"People who know me know I'm strong, but I'm vulnerable."
Key Dates
1943:
Born Catherine Fabienne Dorléac on 22 October in Paris, France, the third of four daughters
1963:
Birth of son, Christian Vadim, from her relationship with Roger Vadim
1964:
Breakthrough into film with her role in the classic musical Les Parapluies de Cherbourg
1965:
Appears in Roman Polanski's Repulsion. Marries the photographer David Bailey
1967:
Appears in Luis Buñuel's Belle de jour. Death in road accident of her elder sister, the actress Françoise Dorléac
1969:
Appears in Truffaut's La Sirène du Mississipi
1972:
Divorces David Bailey. Birth of daughter, Chiara Mastroianni, from her relationship with Marcello Mastroianni
1980:
Appears in Truffaut's Le Dernier métro
1992:
First Oscar nomination for her role in Indochine
Filmography
As of 2014 she has appeared in or her voice has been used in over 100 films or TV programmes.
Mailing Addresses
Catherine Deneuve
c/o Artmedia
20 Avenue Rapp
75007 Paris
France
Catherine Deneuve
76 Rue Bonaparte
75006 Paris
France
Catherine Deneuve
c/o UTA
9560 Wilshire Boulevard, 5th Floor
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
USA
Links
Biography >> Photo Gallery >> Film Poster Gallery >> The Hunger >> The Hunger Film Poster Gallery >> Key Dates >> Filmography >> Mailing Addresses >> Les Demoiselles de Rochefort >> The Umbrellas of Cherbourg >> 8 Femmes >> Catherine Deneuve Book & Magazine Covers - Smartphone Page >>Françoise Dorléac >> Deneuve Dvds Available @ amazon.co.uk
