It’s been nearly sixty years since 24-year-old Catherine Deneuve and her older sister Françoise Dorléac starred as twins in *The Young Girls of Rochefort*.
The movie, which also featured a young Gene Kelly, was the last film the sisters made together. Deneuve went on to become internationally famous, while Françoise’s life and career were tragically cut short.
Born into an acting family, Deneuve, now 79, made her first appearance in the 1957 French movie *The Twilight Girls*. Her big break came in 1960 when she starred in *The Umbrellas of Cherbourg*, a romantic musical that highlighted her French style and innocence, launching her into stardom. This was just the beginning of many films she would make with director Jacques Demy.
Her talent for dramatic roles caught the eye of legendary director Roman Polanski, who cast her in the psychological thriller *Repulsion*. Deneuve’s brilliant performance as Carol, a mentally troubled woman, earned her the nickname “ice maiden.” This image was solidified in her next film, *Belle de Jour*, where she played a housewife who secretly works as a prostitute—a role that won her awards and global fame.
In 1963, Deneuve became a mother, having a son with French screenwriter Roger Vadim. She later had the chance to star alongside her older sister, Françoise Dorléac, in the 1967 musical *The Young Girls of Rochefort*. The two sisters were very close, and with their similar looks, playing twins in the movie felt natural.
But just three months after *Rochefort* was released, tragedy struck. Françoise, at only 25, died in a car accident, a moment Deneuve describes as the most painful in her life.
“The day I lost my sister, I lost my joy of living… it is the most painful thing I have experienced,” she shared in an interview with *Paris Match*, a French weekly magazine.
The loss of her sister didn’t slow down Catherine Deneuve, who became the epitome of 1960s glamor, often seen as a femme fatale wrapped in Yves Saint Laurent.
Deneuve, known as the face of French cinema, has appeared in over 120 films throughout her 60-year career. Reflecting on how the industry has changed, Deneuve explained, “Human nature is vast. There are roles more suited to people of my generation. As you age, it’s the same in life—you gain experience and play characters you couldn’t when you were 30.” She added, “It’s hard to find the right path. You can age better in Europe than in America. But women today look younger than they did 50 years ago. Back then, a 50-year-old woman looked her age. Now, not so much.”
Despite her worldwide fame, Deneuve has mostly starred in French films, with only a few roles in English-language films.
Catherine Deneuve explained why she mostly supports French cinema, saying, “I feel very French, but I speak Italian and English, so I feel very European. However, I don’t feel close to English people. Even though England is not far, their sensibility and character are very different.” She added, “I feel closer to Spanish or Italian people because the Latin character is different from the Anglo-Saxon one. We have different educations and cultures.”
Some of her English-speaking roles include *The April Fools* with Jack Lemmon (1969), *Hustle* with Burt Reynolds (1973), *March or Die* with Gene Hackman (1977), and the 1983 cult classic *The Hunger*, where she played a lesbian vampire alongside David Bowie and Susan Sarandon.
In 1972, Deneuve divorced British photographer David Bailey, whom she married in 1965 after meeting at a Playboy shoot. Their wedding guests included Mick Jagger. From 1970 to 1974, she was in a relationship with Italian film icon Marcello Mastroianni, with whom she had a daughter in 1972.
In 1980, Catherine Deneuve delivered an award-nominated performance in *The Last Metro*, starring alongside another famous French actor, Gérard Depardieu. This marked the beginning of a successful collaboration, as they would appear in 15 films together.
Deneuve mentioned that she and Depardieu have similar work styles, saying, “We are both instinctive actors. We prefer to arrive on set and figure things out in the moment rather than rehearse ahead of time.”
In the 1990s, Deneuve received an Oscar nomination and a César Award (France’s national film award) for her role in the French period drama *Indochine*. The film, released in 1992, also won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
The 2000s introduced Catherine Deneuve to new roles, including the award-winning musical drama *Dancer in the Dark*, where she starred alongside the unique Icelandic singer Björk. In 2010, she reunited with Gérard Depardieu for the eighth time in the film *Potiche*.
After appearing in the 2019 film *The Truth* with Ethan Hawke and Juliette Binoche, Deneuve was filming the French movie *Peaceful* when she was hospitalized due to a stroke. Although her family described it as a “very limited” ischemic stroke, production on the film was delayed until July 2020, when the then 76-year-old actress was able to return. Deneuve, who had smoked since she was 16, finally quit after her month-long hospital stay.
Honored with a lifetime achievement award at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, the French icon, who celebrates her 80th birthday this year, continues to thrive, and we look forward to seeing her in many more films!
A woman, 29, was given an ultimatum: either hide her pink hair or seek employment elsewhere. Embracing the challenge, she began wearing “terrible wigs” to work and her looks quickly went viral online.
Salma Hayek Pinault is a Mexican-American actress, producer, and director. She rose to fame in the late 1990s with her roles in films like Desperado and From Dusk Till Dawn. Hayek has since gone on to star in numerous movies, including Frida, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. However, for a long time, she was blocked from acting in comedy movies, and recently, she explained why.
The actress wasn’t allowed to explore her comedic side because she was “too hot.”
Salma Hayek recently shared with the media that she had been kept from starring in comedies for nearly 2 decades by Hollywood because she was considered ’too hot’ for the genre. Despite appearing in romantic comedies like Fools Rush In and Breaking Up, she struggled to land roles in this genre: “I was typecast for a long time,” she says. “My entire life, I wanted to do comedy and people wouldn’t give me comedies. Not only are you not allowed to be smart, but you were not allowed to be funny in the ’90s.”
Thanks to Adam Sandler, she got her chance.
Salma mentioned that she was unable to get roles in traditional comedies until 2010’s Grown Ups, and that Adam Sandler gave her the opportunity to be funny in the film. However, she also noted that she was already in her forties by that time.
Salma Hayek played the role of Roxanne Chase-Feder in the movie. Roxanne is the wife of Lenny Feder, played by Adam Sandler. She is a caring mother and a supportive wife who helps Lenny navigate the challenges of parenting and adult life. Hayek’s performance in the film was praised for its warmth and humor.
Despite past regrets, Hayek is now happy to be where she is.
After being undermined and limited to certain types of roles for so long, Salma Hayek Pinault was able to let go and see the shallowness of that world. Although she was sad about it at the time, she is now doing every genre and is not focusing on the past. She says that she is now in a place where her appearance is not the only thing appreciated and that she has earned respect from people that really matter, so she feels seen beyond that.
If you are a fan of Salma Hayek just like we are, get a glimpse into her personal life and read about her motherhood, marriage, success story, and her secret to aging gracefully.
Preview photo credit ANGELA WEISS/AFP/East News, From Dusk Till Dawn / Dimension Films and co-producers
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