Jeanne Moreau Biography

Jeanne Moreau (23 January 1928 – 31 July 2017) was a French actress, singer, screenwriter and director. She won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for Seven Days... Seven Nights (1960), the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress for Viva Maria! (1965), and the Csar Award for Best Actress for The Old Lady Who Walked in the Sea (1992). She has also been the recipient of several lifetime awards, including a BAFTA Fellowship in 1996.

Moreau made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comdie-Franaise. She began playing small roles in films in 1949, impressing in a Fernandel vehicle Meutres? (Three Sinners, 1950), and alongside Jean Gabin as a showgirl/gangster's moll in the film Touchez Pas au Grisbi (1954). She achieved prominence as the star of Elevator to the Gallows (1958), directed by Louis Malle, and Jules et Jim (1962), directed by Franois Truffaut. Most prolific during the 1960s, Moreau continued to appear in films into her eighties.

Early life and education

Moreau was born in Paris, the daughter of Katherine ( Buckley), a dancer who performed at the Folies Bergre (d.1990), and Anatole-Dsir Moreau, a restaurateur (d.1975). Moreau's father was French; her mother was English, a native of Lancashire in England, and of part-Irish descent. Moreau's father was Catholic and her mother, originally a Protestant, converted to Catholicism upon marriage. When a young girl, "the family moved south to Vichy, spending vacations at the ancestral village of Mazirat, a town of 30 houses in a valley in the Allier. "It was wonderful there", Moreau said. "Every tombstone in the cemetery was for a Moreau". During the war, the family was split and Moreau lived with her mother in Paris. Moreau ultimately lost interest in school at age 16 and, after attending a performance of Jean Anouilh's Antigone, found her calling as an actor. She later studied at the Conservatoire de Paris. Her parents separated permanently while Moreau was at the conservatory and her mother, "after 24 difficult years in France, returned to England with Jeanne's younger sister, Michelle."

Career

In 1947, Moreau made her theatrical debut at the Avignon Festival. She debuted at the Comdie-Franaise in Ivan Turgenev's A Month in the Country and, by her twenties, was already one of leading actresses in the theatre's troupe. After 1949, she began appearing in films with small parts but continued primarily active in the theatre for several years"?a year at the Thtre National Populaire opposite among others Grard Philipe and Robert Hirsch, then a breakout two years in dual roles in The Dazzling Hour by Anna Bonacci, then Jean Cocteau's La Machine Infernale and others before another two-year run, this time in Shaw's Pygmalion. From the late 1950s, after appearing in several successful films, she began to work with the emerging generation of French film-makers. Elevator to the Gallows (1958) with first-time director Louis Malle was followed by Malle's The Lovers (Les Amants, 1959).

Largely thanks to these films, Moreau went on to work with many of the best known New Wave and avant-garde directors. Franois Truffaut's New Wave film Jules et Jim (1962), her biggest success internationally, is centred on her magnetic starring role. She also worked with a number of other notable directors such as Michelangelo Antonioni (La notte and Beyond the Clouds), Orson Welles (The Trial, Chimes at Midnight and The Immortal Story), Luis Buuel (Diary of a Chambermaid), Elia Kazan (The Last Tycoon), Rainer Werner Fassbinder (Querelle), Wim Wenders (Until the End of the World), Carl Foreman (Champion and The Victors), and Manoel de Oliveira (Gebo et l'Ombre).

In 1983, she was head of the jury at the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival. In 2005, she was awarded with the Stanislavsky Award at the 27th Moscow International Film Festival.

Moreau was also a vocalist. She released several albums and once performed with Frank Sinatra at Carnegie Hall. In addition to acting, Moreau worked behind the camera, as a writer, director and producer. Her blended accomplishments were the subject of a film profile, Calling the Shots (1988), by Janis Cole and Holly Dale.

Personal life

Throughout her life, Moreau maintained friendships with prominent writers such as Jean Cocteau, Jean Genet, Henry Miller and Marguerite Duras (an interview with Moreau is included in Duras's book Outside: Selected Writings). She was formerly married to Jean-Louis Richard (1949-1964) and then to American film director William Friedkin (1977-1979). Director Tony Richardson left his wife, Vanessa Redgrave, for her in 1967 but they never married. She also had affairs with directors Louis Malle and Franois Truffaut, fashion designer Pierre Cardin, jazz trumpeter Miles Davis and Theodoros Roubanis, the Greek actor/playboy.

Moreau was a close friend of Sharon Stone, who presented a 1998 American Academy of Motion Pictures life tribute to Moreau. Orson Welles called her "the greatest actress in the world", and she remained one of France's most accomplished actresses.

Moreau died on 31 July 2017, at the age of 89.

Selected filmography

Actress

Year	Title	Role	Director
1950	'	Martine Annequin	Richard Pottier
1952	The Man in My Life	Suzanne Dubreuil	Guy Lefranc
1953	Dortoir des grandes	Julie	Henri Decoin
	Julietta	Rosie Facibey	Marc Allgret
1954	Touchez pas au grisbi	Josy	Jacques Becker
	Les Intrigantes	Mona Rmi	Henri Decoin
	La Reine Margot	Margaret of Valois	Jean Drville
1958	Ascenseur pour l'chafaud	Florence Carala	Louis Malle
	The Lovers (Les amants)	Jeanne Tournier
1959	Les liaisons dangereuses	Juliette de Merteuil	Roger Vadim
	The 400 Blows	(cameo appearance)	Franois Truffaut
1960	'	Mre Marie de l'Incarnation	Philippe Agostini
	Moderato Cantabile	Anne Desbardes	Peter Brook
1961	A Woman Is a Woman	(uncredited cameo, discussing Jules et Jim)	Jean-Luc Godard
	La Notte	Lidia	Michelangelo Antonioni
1962	The Trial	Miss Burstner	Orson Welles
	Jules et Jim	Catherine	Franois Truffaut
	Eva	Eva Olivier	Joseph Losey
1963	Banana Peel (Peau de banane)	Cathy	Marcel Ophls
	The Victors	the French lady	Carl Foreman
	The Fire Within (Le feu follet)	Eva	Louis Malle
	Bay of Angels	Jacqueline "Jackie" Demaistre	Jacques Demy
1964	Diary of a Chambermaid	Clestine	Luis Buuel
	The Train	Christine	John Frankenheimer
	The Yellow Rolls-Royce	Eloise, Marchioness of Frinton	Anthony Asquith
	Mata Hari, Agent H21	Mata Hari	Jean-Louis Richard
1965	Viva Maria!	Maria I	Louis Malle
	Chimes at Midnight	Doll Tearsheet	Orson Welles
1966	Mademoiselle	"Mademoiselle"	Tony Richardson
1967	The Oldest Profession (episode "Mademoiselle Mimi")	Mimi Guillotine	Philippe de Broca
	The Sailor from Gibraltar	Anna	Tony Richardson
1968	The Immortal Story	Virginie Ducrot	Orson Welles
	Great Catharine	Catharine	Gordon Flemyng
	The Bride Wore Black	Julie Kohler	Franois Truffaut
1970	The Little Theatre of Jean Renoir	the singer	Jean Renoir
	Monte Walsh	Martine Bernard	William A. Fraker
1972	Chre Louise	Louise	Philippe de Broca
	Nathalie Granger	"the other woman"	Marguerite Duras
1974	Les Valseuses	Jeanne Pirolle	Bertrand Blier
1975	Joanna Francesa	Joanna	Cac Diegues
	Hu-man	Sylvana	Jrme Laperrousaz
1976	The Last Tycoon	Didi	Elia Kazan
	Monsieur Klein	Florence	Joseph Losey
1982	Querelle	Lysiane	Rainer Werner Fassbinder
	La Truite	Lou	Joseph Losey
1986	Le Tiroir secret (TV miniseries)	Vivi	(different directors)
1987	The Miracle	Sabine	Jean-Pierre Mocky
1990	Nikita	Amande	Luc Besson
	Alberto Express	the Baroness	Arthur Joff
1991	Anna Karamazoff	the Lady	Rustam Khamdamov
	To meteoro vima tou pelargou	the Lady	Theo Angelopoulos
	The Old Lady Who Walked in the Sea	Lady M	Laurent Heynemann
	Until the End of the World	Edith Farber	Wim Wenders
1992	The Absence	the writer's wife	Peter Handke
1993	A Foreign Field	Angelique	Charles Sturridge
	Catherine the Great	Empress Elizabeth Petrovna	Marvin J. Chomsky
	Map of the Human Heart	Sister Banville	Vincent Ward
	The Summer House	Lili	Waris Hussein
1995	Beyond the Clouds	a Lady	Michelangelo Antonioni and Wim Wenders
1996	The Proprietor	Adrienne Mark	Ismail Merchant
	I Love You, I Love You Not	Nana	Billy Hopkins
1997	Witch Way Love	Eglantine	Ren Manzor
1998	Ever After	Marie Thrse of France	Andy Tennant
2001	'	Marguerite Duras	Jose Dayan
2003	Love Actually	Lady at Marseilles Airport (cameo)	Richard Curtis
	Les parents terribles	Tante Leo	Jose Dayan
2005	Time to Leave	Laura	Franois Ozon
	' (TV miniseries)	Mahaut, Countess of Artois	Jose Dayan
2006	Romo et Juliette	Laurence	Yves Desgagns
2007	Dsengagement	Franoise	Amos Gitai
2009	Face	Jeanne	Ming-liang Tsai
2012	Gebo et l'Ombre	Candidinha	Manoel de Oliveira
2012	'	Frida	Ilmar Raag

Director

• Lumire (1976)
• L'Adolescente (1979)
• Lillian Gish (1983, TV documentary)

Awards and nominations

Films

Year	Group	Award	Film	Result
2008	Csar Awards	Honorary Csar	Lifetime achievement	Won
2005	Moscow International Film Festival	Stanislavsky Prize	Lifetime achievement	Won
2003	Cannes Film Festival	Honorary Golden Palm	Lifetime achievement	Won
2003	Taormina International Film Festival	Taormina Arte Award	Lifetime achievement	Won
2001	Pusan International Film Festival	Hand Printing (tribute)	Lifetime achievement	Won
2000	Berlin International Film Festival	Honorary Golden Berlin Bear	Lifetime achievement	Won
1999	Hamptons International Film Festival	Distinguished Achievement Award	Lifetime achievement	Won
1999	Crteil International Women's Film Festival	Homage	Lifetime achievement	Won
1998	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences	Tribute	Lifetime achievement	Won
1997	European Film Awards	Life Achievement Award	Lifetime achievement	Won
1997	San Sebastin International Film Festival	Donostia Lifetime Achievement Award	Lifetime achievement	Won
1996	BAFTA Awards	Academy Fellowship	Lifetime achievement	Won
1995	Csar Awards	Honorary Csar	Lifetime achievement	Won
1994	[[Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards|Women in Film Crystal Award]]	International Award	Lifetime achievement	Won
1992	Venice Film Festival	Career Golden Lion	Lifetime achievement	Won
1992	Csar Awards	Best Actress	The Old Lady Who Walked in the Sea	Won
1988	Csar Awards	Best Actress	Le Miracul	Nominated
1987	Csar Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Le Paltoquet	Nominated
1984	Razzie Awards	Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song	Querelle - song: "Young and Joyful Bandit"	Nominated
1979	Berlin International Film Festival	Golden Berlin Bear	L'adolescente	Nominated
1979	Chicago International Film Festival	Gold Hugo	L'adolescente	Nominated
1976	Chicago International Film Festival	Gold Hugo	Lumire	Nominated
1976	Taormina International Film Festival	Golden Charybdis	Lumire	Nominated
1967	BAFTA Awards	Best Foreign Actress	Viva Maria!	Won
1964	Karlovy Vary International Film Festival	Best Actress	Diary of a Chambermaid	Won
1963	BAFTA Awards	Best Foreign Actress	Jules et Jim	Nominated
1962	Jussi Awards	Diploma of Merit - Foreign Actress	La notte	Won
1961	Fotogramas de Plata	Best Foreign Performer	Le dialogue des Carmlites	Won
1960	Cannes Film Festival	Best Actress	Moderato cantabile	Won
1958	Venice Film Festival	Best Actress	Les amants	Won

Theater

Year	Group	Award	Play	Result
1988	Molire Awards	Best Actress	Le Rcit de la servante Zerline	Won