Catherine Deneuve

Born in Paris in 1943, Catherine Deneuve is the third daughter of French actors Maurice Dorléac and Renée Deneuve.  Adopting her mother’s maiden name, she started making films as a teenager, achieving stardom at the age of 20 in Jacques Demy’s musical film, Les Parapluies de Cherbourg.  She then appeared in Demy’s next film, Les Desmoiselles de Rochefort, with her sister Françoise Dorléac, who died tragically in a car accident soon after (1967).

Catherine Deneuve earned great acclaim for her role as a schizophrenic killer in Polanski’s shocking psychological thriller Repulsion and, later, as a bored housewife who turns to prostitution in Buñuel’s surreal satire Belle du jour.  By the late 1960s she had established herself in France as a talented actress capable of tackling sensitive and demanding roles. 

Deneuve’s film career continued apace in the 1970s, when she would take the leading role in a variety of films, including action dramas and light comedies.  However, it was not until the 1980s that she achieved international fame and recognition.  Her reputation as a serious actress was bolstered for her part in François Truffaut’s Le Dernier Métro for which she won critical acclaim.  Her appearance in Techiné’s thriller-romance, Le Lieu de crime, was also well received.

In 1992, she was honoured for her stunning performance in Regis Warnier’s Indochine with a César and her first Oscar nomination.  She continues to remain a high profile in French cinema, starring more recently in Techiné’s Les Voleurs and Lars von Trier’s Dancer in the Dark.

She has two children, Christian Vadim by Roger Vadim and Chiara Mastroianni by Marcello Mastroianni.  Chiara Mastroianni appeared with Deneuve as her daugher in Techiné’s acclaimed 1993 film, Ma saison préférée.

A remarkably beautiful woman who is the epitome of Gallic elegance, Catherine Deneuve remains a popular and widely admired screen actress.  Her performances rarely fail to impress, characterised by inner fragility within a shell of composed feminine grace, making her perfect for the kind of French romantic dramas that international audiences adore.

Catherine Deneuve has appeared in the following films: