Catherine Deneuve life and biography

One of the best-respected actresses in the French film industry, Catherine Deneuve made her reputation playing a series of beautiful ice maidens for directors such as Luis Buñuel and Roman Polanski. The daughter of French stage and film actor Maurice Dorléac, Deneuve was born in Paris on October 22, 1943. She made her screen debut at the age of 13, with a role in the 1956 film Les Collegiennes, and went on to make a string of films with directors such as Roger Vadim (with whom she had a child) before getting her breakthrough role in Jaques Demy's charming musical, Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) (1964). The burst of stardom that accompanied her portrayal led to two of her archetypal ice maiden roles, first in Roman Polanski's terrifying Repulsion in 1965 and then in Buñuel's 1967 Belle de Jour. Deneuve's startling portrayal of an icy, sexually adventurous housewife in the latter film helped to establish her as one of the most remarkable and compelling actresses of her generation. She further demonstrated her talent that year in Demy's Umbrellas musical follow-up, Les Demoiselles de Rochefort, which she starred in with her sister, Françoise Dorléac.

Deneuve continued to work steadily through the 1960s and 1970s in films such as the 1970 Tristana (her second collaboration with Buñuel) and A Slightly Pregnant Man (1973), in which she starred with her lover at the time, Marcello Mastrioanni (who would father her daughter, the actress Chiara Mastrioanni). Despite or perhaps because of her stardom, Deneuve chose to avoid Hollywood, limiting her appearances in American films to The April Fools (1969) and Hustle (1975). Tellingly, her most significant American screen work of that period was probably the series of commercials she did for Chanel perfume in the mid-'70s, which led to the creation of her own perfume a decade later. Deneuve also did prolific work through the 1980s, appearing in such films as François Truffaut's Le Dernier Métro (1980) and Tony Scott's The Hunger (1983). The latter film saw Deneuve playing a bisexual vampire alongside David Bowie and Susan Sarandon, and her performance won her an indelible cult status in the States among lesbians, goths, and artistically inclined teenage boys.

In the 1990s, Deneuve garnered further international acclaim for her roles in several films, including the 1992 film Indochine (for which she won a French Academy Award and a Best Actress Oscar nomination) and two films directed by André Téchiné in which she played Daniel Auteuil's sister, Ma Saison Préférée (1993) and Les Voleurs (1995). In 1996, she paid homage to the director who had first given her fame by taking part in the documentary L'Univers de Jacques Demy. Closing out the final years of the 1990's Deneuve remained consistantly working in numerous films (in 1999 alone she appeared in no less than six, including driector Leos Carax's controversial Pola X) and continuing to turn in compelling performances.

In 2000 Deneuve recieved much critical attention when cast alongside eccentric Icelandic singer Bjork in the Lars von Trier's melancholy musical Dancer in the Dark. Though it polarized critics and audiences alike, Dancer nevertheless won the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival and continued von Trier's tradition of creating difficult and challenging films that, like them or not, always seem to provoke a strong response.

Deneuve's fourth and most recent American film was The Musketeer (2001). She shared the Silver Bear Award for Best Ensemble Cast at the Berlin International Film Festival for her performance in 8 Women (2002). In 2005, Deneuve published her diary A l'ombre de moi-meme ("In My Own Shadow", published in English as Close Up and Personal: The Private Diaries of Catherine Deneuve); in it she writes about her experiences shooting the films Indochine and Dancer in the Dark; and working with leading men such as Burt Reynolds, Jack Lemmon, Vincent Perez, William Hurt, and Marcello Mastroianni. In 2006, she headed the jury at the Venice Film Festival. She made another brief return to Hollywood with a guest-starring role on the FX TV series Nip/Tuck during its fourth season in November 2006. She also lent her voice to the Oscar-nominated animated feature Persepolis (2007). In 2008, she appeared in her 100th film, Un conte de Noël, which co-starred her daughter Chiara Mastroianni. That same year she was honored at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival for her work.

Deneuve continues to work steadily making at least two or three films per year.

Charities

* Deneuve was appointed UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the Safeguarding of Film Heritage in 1994. On 12 November 2003, she resigned her position as Goodwill Ambassador at UNESCO to protest the nomination of French businessman Pierre Falcone as the Angola representative, which enables him to escape justice and investigation for illegal arms dealing.

* Deneuve asked that the rights owed to her from her representation of Marianne be given to Amnesty International.

* Louis Vuitton made a donation to The Climate Project, spearheaded by Al Gore, on behalf of Deneuve.

* Deneuve is also involved with Children Action, Children of Africa, Orphelins Roumains and Reporters sans frontières (Reporters Without Borders).

* Douleur sans frontiers (Pain Without Borders) - At the end of 2003, Deneuve recorded a radio commercial to encourage donations to fight against the pain in the world, notably for the victims of landmines.

* Handicap International - In the middle of July 2005, Deneuve lent her voice to the message of radio commercials, TV and cinema, which denounced the use of the BASM (cluster bombs).

* Voix de femmes pour la démocratie (Voice of women for democracy) - Deneuve read the text, "Le petit garçon," of Jean-Lou Dabadie, on the entitled CD, "Voix de femmes pour la démocratie." The CD was sold for the benefit of the female victims of the war and the fundamentalisms that fight for democracy.

* Deneuve has also been involved with various charities in the fight against AIDS and cancer.

Actor Credits

* Big Picture (2010)
* Potiche (2010)
* The Girl on the Train (2010)
* Bancs publics (2009)
* Cyprien (2009)
* Hidden Diary (2009)
* I Want to See (2008)
* Mes Stars et moi (2008)
* A Christmas Tale (2008)
* Apres Lui (2007)
* Persepolis (2007)
Voice of Marjane s Mother Tadji
* Changing Times (2006)
* Le Concile De Pierre (2006)
* Le Heros De La Famille (2006)
* Kings and Queen (2005)
* Nearest To Heaven (2005)
* Palais Royal! (2005)
* Francois Truffaut, An Autobiography (2004)
* A Talking Picture (2004)
* Dangerous Liaisons (2003)
* A Talking Picture (2003)
* 8 Women (2002) Gaby
* I m Going Home (2002) Marguerite
* Tanguy (2002)
* Absolument fabuleux (2001) Herself
* Clouds (2001)
* Le Petit Poucet (2001)
* The Musketeer (2001) The Queen of France
* Dancer in the Dark (2000) Kathy
* East-West (2000) Gabrielle Develay
* Place Vendome (2000) Marianne
* Pola X (2000) Marie
* Time Regained (2000) Odette de Forcheville
* Belle Maman (1999) Lea
* Mississippi Mermaid (1999)
* Night Wind (1999) Helene
* One Hundred and One Nights (1999) Actor for a Day
* The Book That Wrote Itself (1999)
* Genealogies d un crime (1998) Solange/ Jeanne
* Les Voleurs (1996) Marie
* Ma Saison Preferee (1996)
* The Convent (1995)
* The Universe of Jacques Demy (1995)
* The Chess Game (1994)
* Contre l oubli (1992)
* Indochine (1992)
* La Reine Blanche (1991)
* Helmut Newton: Frames From the Edge (1989)
* Frequence meurtre (1988)
* A Strange Place to Meet (1988)
* Agent Trouble (1987)
Amanda Weber
* Le Lieu du Crime (1987)
* Love Songs (1986)
* Pourvu que ce soit une fille (1986)
* Words and Music (1986)
* Fort Saganne (1984)
* L' Africain (1983)
* Le Bon Plaisir (1983)
* The Hunger (1983)
* Hotel des Ameriques (1982)
* Le Choc (1982)
* Reporters (1981)
* The Choice of Weapons (1981)
* The Last Metro (1981)
* Abattre (1980)
* I Love All of You (1980)
* I Love You (1980)
* Courage Fuyons (1979)
* Ils sont grands ces petits (1979)
* A nous deux (1979)
* Ecoute Voir... (1978)
* L' Argent des autres (1978)
* March Or Die (1977)
* The Beach House (1977)
* Anima Persa (1976)
* Si c'etait a refaire (1976)
* Hustle (1975)
* Lovers Like Us (1975)
* La Fatti di Gente Perbene (1975)
* L' Agression (1974)
* Zig-Zig (1974)
* The La Femme aux Bottes Rouges (1974)
* Don t Touch the White Woman! (1973)
* A L' Evenement le plus important depuis que l'homme a marche sur la lune (1973)
Irene
* Un Flic (1972)
* Ca n'arrive qu'aux autres (1971)
* La Cagna (1971)
* Un Dirty Money (1971)
* Donkey Skin (1970)
* Mississippi Mermaid (1970)
* Tristana (1970)
* Benjamin, or the Diary of an Innocent Young Man (1969)
* La Heartbeat (1969)
* The April Fools (1969)
* Belle de Jour (1967)
* The Worlds s Most Beautiful Swindles (1967)
* The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)
* La Vie de Chateau (1966)
* Les Creatures (1965)
* Man Hunt (1965)
* Repulsion (1965)
* Repulsion (1965)
* The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
* Vice and Virtue (1963)
* Tales of Paris (1962)
* The Twilight Girls (1957)
* Les yeux de sa mère

Producer Credits

* A Strange Place to Meet (1988)

Music Credits

* 8 Women (2002)
Performer ( Toi Jamais )
* Dancer in the Dark (2000)
Song Performer ( Cvalda )
* Courage Fuyons (1979)
Song Performer ( Amsterdam Girl )

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