Jeanne Moreau

French actress
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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):
"I Love You, I Love You Not" (1996)
"Absences répétées" (1972)
"Les hommes en blanc" (1955)
"Screen One" (1993)
"Les intrigantes" (1954)
"Al di là delle nuvole" (1995)
"Le journal d'une femme de chambre" (1964)
"Nathalie Granger" (1972)
"La guerre des fils de la lumière contre les fils des ténèbres" (2009)
"Une Estonienne à Paris" (2012)
"Les louves" (1957)
"Mata Hari, agent H21" (1964)
"Akoibon" (2005)
"Peau de banane" (1963)
"Moderato cantabile" (1960)
"Plein sud" (1981)
"Sauve-toi, Lola" (1986)
"La vieille qui marchait dans la mer" (1991)
"Carmel" (2009)
"Un amour de sorcière" (1997)
"Le paltoquet" (1986)
"M'sieur la Caille" (1955)
"La reine Margot" (1954)
"Gas-oil" (1955)
"Dortoir des grandes" (1953)
"Meurtres" (1950)
"Le procès" (1962)
"Pigalle-Saint-Germain-des-Prés" (1950)
"Screen Two" (1993)
"Campanadas a medianoche" (1965)
"Joanna Francesa" (1973)
"Bis ans Ende der Welt" (1991)
"L'absence" (1992)
"Touchez pas au grisbi" (1954)
"To meteoro vima tou pelargou" (1991)
"Kérity, la maison des contes" (2009)
"Viva Maria!" (1965)
"Cet amour-là" (2001)
"Jour après jour" (1989)
"Visage" (2009)
"The Deep" (1970)
"Trois jours à vivre" (1957)
"Great Catherine" (1968)
"Le salaire du péché" (1956)
"Monte Walsh" (1970)
"Le tiroir secret" (1986–1987)
"The Sailor from Gibraltar" (1967)
"La truite" (1982)
"Le dialogue des Carmélites" (1960)
"La baie des anges" (1963)
"The Train" (1964)
"Les liaisons dangereuses" (1959)
"Ever After: A Cinderella Story" (1998)
"Gebo et l'ombre" (2012)
"Les amants" (1958)
"L'amant" (1992)
"Anna Karamazoff" (1991)
"L'étrange Monsieur Steve" (1957)
"Le talent de mes amis" (2015)
"Eva" (1962)
"La notte" (1961)
"Julietta" (1953)
"Chacun son cinéma ou Ce petit coup au coeur quand la lumière s'éteint et que le film commence" (2007)
"Le jardin qui bascule" (1975)
"La race des 'seigneurs'" (1974)
"Mademoiselle" (1966)
"Le miraculé" (1987)
"Hu-Man" (1975)
"L'homme de ma vie" (1952)
"Secrets d'alcôve" (1954)
"À demain" (1992)
"Je m'appelle Victor" (1993)
"Comptes à rebours" (1971)
"Map of the Human Heart" (1992)
"Plus tard" (2008)
"Lumière" (1976)
"Il est minuit, docteur Schweitzer" (1952)
"Dernier amour" (1949)
"Disengagement" (2007)
"Échec au porteur" (1958)
"Amour & confusions" (1997)
"Souvenirs d'en France" (1975)
"Les cent et une nuits de Simon Cinéma" (1995)
"Les rois maudits" (2005)
"5 Branded Women" (1960)
"The Yellow Rolls-Royce" (1964)
"Mille milliards de dollars" (1982)
"The Victors" (1963)
"Roméo et Juliette" (2006)
"Le dos au mur" (1958)
"Ascenseur pour l'échafaud" (1958)
"Everywhere at Once" (2008)
"Jules et Jim" (1962)
"Alberto Express" (1990)
"L'humeur vagabonde" (1972)
"Jusqu'au dernier" (1957)
"Le tourbillon de Jeanne" (2013)
"Les valseuses" (1974)
"Chère Louise" (1972)
"Arena" (1976)
"Le temps qui reste" (2005)
"Je t'aime" (1974)
"Il manoscritto del principe" (2000)
"Nikita" (1990)
"The Proprietor" (1996)
"Go West" (2005)
"Querelle" (1982)
"Emmenez-moi au théâtre" (1983)
"The Last Tycoon" (1976)
"La femme fardée" (1990)
"Your Ticket Is No Longer Valid" (1981)
"Collection Fred Vargas" (2008)
"Les misérables" (2000)
"Mr. Klein" (1976)
"Le plus vieux métier du monde" (1967)
"Le feu follet" (1963)
"La mariée était en noir" (1968)
"Le corps de Diane" (1969)
"La nuit de l'océan" (1992)
"Lisa" (2001)
"Shades of Darkness" (1986)
"Belle Époque" (1995)
"Les quatre cents coups" (1959)
Movies/Tv Shows (Directed):
"Lumière" (1976)
"Lillian Gish" (1983)
"L'adolescente" (1979)
Movies/Tv Shows (Writing/Creator):
"Lumière" (1976)
"L'adolescente" (1979)
"La petite prairie aux bouleaux" (2003)

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).

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.