It’s been nearly sixty years since 24-year-old Catherine Deneuve and her older sister Françoise Dorléac starred as twins in *The Young Girls of Rochefort*.
The movie, which also featured a young Gene Kelly, was the last film the sisters made together. Deneuve went on to become internationally famous, while Françoise’s life and career were tragically cut short.
Born into an acting family, Deneuve, now 79, made her first appearance in the 1957 French movie *The Twilight Girls*. Her big break came in 1960 when she starred in *The Umbrellas of Cherbourg*, a romantic musical that highlighted her French style and innocence, launching her into stardom. This was just the beginning of many films she would make with director Jacques Demy.
Her talent for dramatic roles caught the eye of legendary director Roman Polanski, who cast her in the psychological thriller *Repulsion*. Deneuve’s brilliant performance as Carol, a mentally troubled woman, earned her the nickname “ice maiden.” This image was solidified in her next film, *Belle de Jour*, where she played a housewife who secretly works as a prostitute—a role that won her awards and global fame.
In 1963, Deneuve became a mother, having a son with French screenwriter Roger Vadim. She later had the chance to star alongside her older sister, Françoise Dorléac, in the 1967 musical *The Young Girls of Rochefort*. The two sisters were very close, and with their similar looks, playing twins in the movie felt natural.
But just three months after *Rochefort* was released, tragedy struck. Françoise, at only 25, died in a car accident, a moment Deneuve describes as the most painful in her life.
“The day I lost my sister, I lost my joy of living… it is the most painful thing I have experienced,” she shared in an interview with *Paris Match*, a French weekly magazine.
The loss of her sister didn’t slow down Catherine Deneuve, who became the epitome of 1960s glamor, often seen as a femme fatale wrapped in Yves Saint Laurent.
Deneuve, known as the face of French cinema, has appeared in over 120 films throughout her 60-year career. Reflecting on how the industry has changed, Deneuve explained, “Human nature is vast. There are roles more suited to people of my generation. As you age, it’s the same in life—you gain experience and play characters you couldn’t when you were 30.” She added, “It’s hard to find the right path. You can age better in Europe than in America. But women today look younger than they did 50 years ago. Back then, a 50-year-old woman looked her age. Now, not so much.”
Despite her worldwide fame, Deneuve has mostly starred in French films, with only a few roles in English-language films.
Catherine Deneuve explained why she mostly supports French cinema, saying, “I feel very French, but I speak Italian and English, so I feel very European. However, I don’t feel close to English people. Even though England is not far, their sensibility and character are very different.” She added, “I feel closer to Spanish or Italian people because the Latin character is different from the Anglo-Saxon one. We have different educations and cultures.”
Some of her English-speaking roles include *The April Fools* with Jack Lemmon (1969), *Hustle* with Burt Reynolds (1973), *March or Die* with Gene Hackman (1977), and the 1983 cult classic *The Hunger*, where she played a lesbian vampire alongside David Bowie and Susan Sarandon.
In 1972, Deneuve divorced British photographer David Bailey, whom she married in 1965 after meeting at a Playboy shoot. Their wedding guests included Mick Jagger. From 1970 to 1974, she was in a relationship with Italian film icon Marcello Mastroianni, with whom she had a daughter in 1972.
In 1980, Catherine Deneuve delivered an award-nominated performance in *The Last Metro*, starring alongside another famous French actor, Gérard Depardieu. This marked the beginning of a successful collaboration, as they would appear in 15 films together.
Deneuve mentioned that she and Depardieu have similar work styles, saying, “We are both instinctive actors. We prefer to arrive on set and figure things out in the moment rather than rehearse ahead of time.”
In the 1990s, Deneuve received an Oscar nomination and a César Award (France’s national film award) for her role in the French period drama *Indochine*. The film, released in 1992, also won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
The 2000s introduced Catherine Deneuve to new roles, including the award-winning musical drama *Dancer in the Dark*, where she starred alongside the unique Icelandic singer Björk. In 2010, she reunited with Gérard Depardieu for the eighth time in the film *Potiche*.
After appearing in the 2019 film *The Truth* with Ethan Hawke and Juliette Binoche, Deneuve was filming the French movie *Peaceful* when she was hospitalized due to a stroke. Although her family described it as a “very limited” ischemic stroke, production on the film was delayed until July 2020, when the then 76-year-old actress was able to return. Deneuve, who had smoked since she was 16, finally quit after her month-long hospital stay.
Honored with a lifetime achievement award at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, the French icon, who celebrates her 80th birthday this year, continues to thrive, and we look forward to seeing her in many more films!
This Iconic Actress is 91 and Radiating Beauty—See Her Stunning Transformation
Carol Burnett, the famous comedy legend, turned 91 in April!
After many years of making us laugh, Burnett still shines bright. NBC honored her amazing career last year with a special tribute called *Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter and Love.*
Many of Hollywood’s biggest stars attended the event to honor Burnett, sharing their admiration on the red carpet.
**Birthday Tributes to Burnett**
One of the attendees was Julie Andrews, the legendary star of *The Sound of Music* and a close friend of Burnett. She joked, “She brings out the best in me, and I think I bring out the worst in her. I don’t know why!”
Andrews remembered meeting Burnett at a Chinese restaurant long ago: “When we met, no one else could get a word in. We bonded like that, and it has never changed,” Burnett said about their lasting friendship.
Music icon Cher also shared stories about her friendship with Carol Burnett.
“I would sneak out through the fence to go to the farmer’s market, and we played practical jokes on each other,” Cher said. “It was just easy and fun, and that’s all we wanted to do.”
Actress Jane Lynch remembered meeting Burnett for the first time: “I was firmly in love; she’s exactly the person you hope she would be,” she told the Hollywood Reporter.
The guest list for the tribute show, which was taped in March, included many big names from both the past and present. Stars like Lily Tomlin, Steve Carell, Laura Dern, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Oprah, Michelle Obama, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Allison Janney, Jimmy Fallon, and Ellen DeGeneres all participated in celebrating Burnett’s remarkable career.
According to Playbill, some of Broadway’s biggest stars, like Bernadette Peters, Billy Porter, Sutton Foster, and Kristin Chenoweth, will perform musical numbers in honor of Burnett. She herself is a Broadway veteran, having received Tony nominations for *Once Upon a Mattress* and *Moon Over Buffalo*.
“I’m so excited NBC decided to throw me a birthday party and invited all of my closest friends,” Burnett said in a statement. “I can’t wait to look back at so many wonderful moments throughout my career. I feel so lucky to share this night with everyone.”
Carol Burnett is best known for her groundbreaking variety/sketch series, *The Carol Burnett Show*, which aired for 11 seasons on CBS. It was the first show of its kind hosted by a woman, and Burnett is widely seen as a trailblazer for female comedians.
She has recently received many lifetime achievement awards, including the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.
In 2019, the Golden Globes named their television lifetime achievement award after her, calling it the “Carol Burnett Award,” and she was the first person to receive it.
Last year, she returned to TV with an important guest role in the final season of *Better Call Saul*.
In an interview before her 90th birthday, Burnett shared that she doesn’t feel her age, calling herself a “late bloomer” compared to other performers.
“I can’t wrap my head around it,” Burnett told *People Magazine*. “I still feel like I’m about 11, but I’m amazed. It sure went fast. But I’m glad because I’ve got all my parts — my hips, my knees, and my brain, so I’m happy about that.”
As Carol Burnett celebrated her 91st birthday on April 26, the television legend was still making waves. She recently celebrated her role in the new miniseries *Palm Royale*, appeared on the cover of *Harper’s Bazaar* in March, and almost saw her playful birthday wish involving *Maestro* star Bradley Cooper come true during her appearance on *Jimmy Kimmel Live!* just days earlier.
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