Jeanne Moreau

French actress

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Last Updated: Oct 19, 2024 • Article History

Quick Facts

Born:: January 23, 1928, Paris, France

Died:: July 31, 2017, Paris (aged 89)

Movement / Style:: New Wave

Married To:: William Friedkin (1977–1979); Jean-Louis Richard (1949–1951)

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "Le talent de mes amis" (2015); "Le tourbillon de Jeanne" (2013); "Gebo et l'ombre" (2012); "Une Estonienne à Paris" (2012); "Kérity, la maison des contes" (2009); "La guerre des fils de la lumière contre les fils des ténèbres" (2009); "Visage" (2009); "Carmel" (2009); "Everywhere at Once" (2008); "Collection Fred Vargas" (2008); "Plus tard" (2008); "Disengagement" (2007); "Chacun son cinéma ou Ce petit coup au coeur quand la lumière s'éteint et que le film commence" (2007); "Roméo et Juliette" (2006); "Les rois maudits" (2005); "Go West" (2005); "Le temps qui reste" (2005); "Akoibon" (2005); "Cet amour-là" (2001); "Lisa" (2001); "Les misérables" (2000); "Il manoscritto del principe" (2000); "Ever After: A Cinderella Story" (1998); "Un amour de sorcière" (1997); "Amour & confusions" (1997); "The Proprietor" (1996); "I Love You, I Love You Not" (1996); "Belle Époque" (1995); "Al di là delle nuvole" (1995); "Les cent et une nuits de Simon Cinéma" (1995); "Screen One" (1993); "Je m'appelle Victor" (1993); "Screen Two" (1993); "À demain" (1992); "L'absence" (1992); "La nuit de l'océan" (1992); "Map of the Human Heart" (1992); "L'amant" (1992); "Bis ans Ende der Welt" (1991); "La vieille qui marchait dans la mer" (1991); "To meteoro vima tou pelargou" (1991); "Anna Karamazoff" (1991); "La femme fardée" (1990); "Alberto Express" (1990); "Nikita" (1990); "Jour après jour" (1989); "Le miraculé" (1987); "Le tiroir secret" (1986–1987); "Shades of Darkness" (1986); "Sauve-toi, Lola" (1986); "Le paltoquet" (1986); "Emmenez-moi au théâtre" (1983); "La truite" (1982); "Querelle" (1982); "Mille milliards de dollars" (1982); "Your Ticket Is No Longer Valid" (1981); "Plein sud" (1981); "The Last Tycoon" (1976); "Mr. Klein" (1976); "Lumière" (1976); "Arena" (1976); "Hu-Man" (1975); "Souvenirs d'en France" (1975); "Le jardin qui bascule" (1975); "La race des 'seigneurs'" (1974); "Les valseuses" (1974); "Je t'aime" (1974); "Joanna Francesa" (1973); "Absences répétées" (1972); "Nathalie Granger" (1972); "L'humeur vagabonde" (1972); "Chère Louise" (1972); "Comptes à rebours" (1971); "The Deep" (1970); "Monte Walsh" (1970); "Le corps de Diane" (1969); "Great Catherine" (1968); "La mariée était en noir" (1968); "The Sailor from Gibraltar" (1967); "Le plus vieux métier du monde" (1967); "Mademoiselle" (1966); "Campanadas a medianoche" (1965); "Viva Maria!" (1965); "Mata Hari, agent H21" (1964); "The Yellow Rolls-Royce" (1964); "The Train" (1964); "Le journal d'une femme de chambre" (1964); "The Victors" (1963); "Peau de banane" (1963); "Le feu follet" (1963); "La baie des anges" (1963); "Le procès" (1962); "Eva" (1962); "Jules et Jim" (1962); "La notte" (1961); "Le dialogue des Carmélites" (1960); "Moderato cantabile" (1960); "5 Branded Women" (1960); "Les liaisons dangereuses" (1959); "Les quatre cents coups" (1959); "Les amants" (1958); "Le dos au mur" (1958); "Ascenseur pour l'échafaud" (1958); "Échec au porteur" (1958); "Trois jours à vivre" (1957); "L'étrange Monsieur Steve" (1957); "Les louves" (1957); "Jusqu'au dernier" (1957); "Le salaire du péché" (1956); "Gas-oil" (1955); "M'sieur la Caille" (1955); "Les hommes en blanc" (1955); "La reine Margot" (1954); "Secrets d'alcôve" (1954); "Les intrigantes" (1954); "Touchez pas au grisbi" (1954); "Julietta" (1953); "Dortoir des grandes" (1953); "Il est minuit, docteur Schweitzer" (1952); "L'homme de ma vie" (1952); "Pigalle-Saint-Germain-des-Prés" (1950); "Meurtres" (1950); "Dernier amour" (1949)

Jeanne Moreau (born January 23, 1928, Paris, France—died July 31, 2017, Paris) was an actress best known for her multifaceted performances in French New Wave films of the 1950s and ’60s, although she continued her prolific film career into the 21st century.

Moreau studied at the Conservatoire Nationale d’Art Dramatique and became at 20 years of age the youngest member of the Comédie-Française. Le Dernier Amour (1949; Last Love) marked her film debut, but Ascenseur pour l’échafaud (Elevator to the Gallows, 1958) and Les Amants (1958; The Lovers) brought her international fame as the embodiment of feminine mystery and sexuality.

Her performances as alienated modern women in Moderato cantabile (1960) and La notte (1961; “The Night”) and as the volatile, enigmatic Catherine of Jules et Jim (1962) established her as a remarkable actress and compelling screen presence. Her other notable films from the 1960s include Le Journal d’une femme de chambre (1964; Diary of a Chambermaid); Viva Maria! (1965), in which she starred opposite Brigitte Bardot; and Campanadas a medianoche (1966; Chimes at Midnight, or Falstaff). She also turned briefly to directing, most notably with L’Adolescente (1979; “The Adolescent”), which starred Simone Signoret.

USA 2006 - 78th Annual Academy Awards. Closeup of giant Oscar statue at the entrance of the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, film movie hollywood

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As Moreau’s career continued into the 1980s and ’90s, her films, notably Le Miraculé (1987; “The Miracle”) and La Vieille qui marchait dans la mer (1991; The Old Lady Who Walked in the Sea), were well received in France. She starred in such varied roles as a seductive older woman in the BBC movie Clothes in the Wardrobe (1993; U.S. title The Summer House) and as a Jewish grandmother in I Love You, I Love You Not (1996).

By the beginning of the 21st century, Moreau had starred in more than 130 films. Her later movies include Lisa (2001), Le Temps qui reste (2005; Time to Leave), and Plus Tard (2008; One Day You’ll Understand).

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