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Catherine Deneuve Biography

Actor

Photos ( See all 22 )

Name at birth: Catherine Fabienne Dorléac

Gorgeous and aloof, Catherine Deneuve has been an icon of the French cinema since the 1960s. Born into a family of actors, she made her film debut as a teenager, and as she matured her cool blonde charms began to turn moviegoers' heads. Though first promoted by filmmaker Roger Vadim in the early '60s, she found her breakthrough role in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964). Her most famous movies from the era are Roman Polanski's Repulsion (1965), Belle du Jour (1967) and Tristana (1970). Since the 1970s she has made movies outside of France only infrequently, but was internationally famous as a pitchwoman for Chanel perfume in the 1980s and appeared in the critically acclaimed films The Last Metro (1980) and Indochine (1991). A popular figure in France and a legendary beauty of the big screen, Deneuve's best-known films include The Hunger (1983, with Susan Sarandon), The Last Metro (1980), Dancer in the Dark (2000, starring Björk) and A Christmas Tale (2008).

Extra credit: Other sexy European leading ladies include Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida and Brigitte Bardot.

She joins Bela Lugosi and Willem Dafoe in our loop They Played Vampires.

Four Good Links

50 Years on Film

2007 story that covers her long career

Catherine Deneuve

Fan site with photos, interviews and articles, mostly in French

Ice Queen Catherine Deneuve Looks Back

Nearly-gushing 2009 Times Online interview

Filmography: Catherine Deneuve

Quick listing, followed by links to related articles

Vital Stats

Birth

22 October 1943
(age 66)

Birthplace

Paris, France

Death

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Best Known As

Star of the movie Belle du Jour