DENEUVE, CATHERINE

born October 22, 1943, Paris, France original name Catherine Dorlac French actress noted for her archetypal Gallic beauty as well as for her roles in films by some of the world's greatest directors. Deneuve was the third of four daughters born to the French actors Maurice Dorlac and Rene Deneuve. She landed a small role in the 1957 film Les Collgiennes (The Twilight Girls) and began her film career in earnest in 1960 with an appearance in Les Petits Chats (The Little Cats, released in English as Wild Roots of Love). She became an international star with her acclaimed performance in director Jacques Demy's romantic classic Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (1964; The Umbrellas of Cherbourg). During the 1960s and '70s, Deneuve was in great demand by several of the world's leading directors, such as Roman Polanski (Repulsion, 1965) and Terence Young (Mayerling, 1968). She worked for Luis Buuel on the highly acclaimed French-Italian coproduction Belle de jour (1967) and the equally acclaimed French-Italian-Spanish coproduction Tristana (1970). She appeared sporadically in American films, perhaps most memorably in The April Fools (1969) with Jack Lemmon and in Hustle (1975) with Burt Reynolds. Despite her international rsum, most of Deneuve's films were made in her native France. She worked with Franois Truffaut in La Sirne du Mississippi (1969; Mississippi Mermaid) and Le Dernier Mtro (1980; The Last Metro) and also appeared in Jacques Demy's Peau d'ne (1970; Donkey Skin), Jean-Pierre Melville's Un Flic (1971; Dirty Money), and Claude Berri's Je vous aime (1980; I Love You All). Her few films of the 1990s include Indochine (1992), for which she received a best actress Oscar nomination, and O convento (1995; The Convent), for acclaimed Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira. Deneuve enjoyed the film Breaking the Waves (1996) so much that she asked its director, Lars von Trier, for a role in one of his films. The result was her part in Dancer in the Dark (2000), which won the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival. In addition to the fame she accrued for her beauty and talent, Deneuve also achieved notoriety for her relationships with director Roger Vadim and actor Marcello Mastroianni. Both relationships produced children, including actress Chiara Mastroianni, born in 1972. Deneuve's older sister, Franoise Dorlac, was also a successful actress until her untimely death in a car accident in 1967. The sisters appeared together in one film, Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (1967; The Young Girls of Rochefort). Deneuve also served as the model for Marianne, the mythical symbol of the French Republic, from 1985 to 2000.