Anouk Aimée

Nicole Françoise Florence Dreyfus<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}; 27 April 1932Template:SpndTemplate:Nowrap 2024), known professionally as Anouk Aimée ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}) or Anouk, was a French film actress who appeared in 70 films from 1947 until 2019. Having begun her film career at age 14, she studied acting and dance in her early years, besides her regular education. Although the majority of her films were French, she also made films in Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy and Germany, along with some American productions.

Among her films are Federico Fellini's La dolce vita (1960), after which she was considered a "rising star who exploded" onto the film world.<ref name=Thompson/> She subsequently acted in Fellini's 8½ (1963), Jacques Demy's Lola (1961), George Cukor's Justine (1969), Bernardo Bertolucci's Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man (1981), and Robert Altman's Prêt à Porter (1994). She won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama and the BAFTA Award for Best Actress and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her acting in A Man and a Woman (1966). The film "virtually reignited the lush on-screen romance in an era of skeptical modernism", and brought her international fame.<ref name=Lewis/>

She won the Award for Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival for Marco Bellocchio's film A Leap in the Dark (1980). In 2002, she received an honorary César Award, France's national film award. Aimée was known for her "striking features" and beauty, and considered "one of the hundred sexiest stars in film history", according to a 1995 poll conducted by Empire magazine.<ref name="Lewis" /> She often portrayed a femme fatale with a melancholy aura. In the 1960s, Life magazine commented: "after each picture her enigmatic beauty lingered" in the memories of her audience, and called her "the Left Bank's most beautiful resident".<ref name="Life" />

Early years

Aimée was born in Paris to actor Henry Murray (born Henri Dreyfus; 30 January 1907 – 29 January 1984)<ref name=Lewis>Flitterman-Lewis, Sandy. "Anouk Aimée" Template:Webarchive, Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia</ref> and actress Geneviève Sorya (née Durand; 23 June 1912 – 23 March 2008). According to one historian, although some have speculated that her background may be related to Captain Alfred Dreyfus, this has never been confirmed.<ref name=Lewis/> Her father was Jewish, whereas her mother was Roman Catholic. She was raised Catholic but later converted to Judaism as an adult.<ref name=Lewis/><ref name=Arnold/>

Her early education took place at l'École de la rue Milton, in Paris; École de Barbezieux; Pensionnat de Bandol; and Institution de Megève. She studied dance at Marseille Opera. During World War II she was a pupil at Mayfield School, East Sussex, but left before taking final exams. She studied theatre in England, after which she studied dramatic art and dance with Andrée Bauer-Thérond.<ref name=Unterburger>Unterburger, Amy L. (ed.) Actors and Actresses, International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers (3rd edition), St James Press (1997), pp. 9–11</ref>

Career

File:Anouk Aimée - Otto.png

Anouk Aimée in 8½, 1963

Aimée (then still Françoise Dreyfus) made her film debut, at the age of 14, in the role of Anouk in La Maison sous la mer (The House Under the Sea, 1946), and she kept the name afterwards. Jacques Prévert, while writing Les amants de Vérone (The Lovers of Verona, 1949) specifically for her, suggested she take the symbolic last name Aimée, "that would forever associate her with the affective power of her screen roles."<ref name=Lewis/> In French, it means "beloved."<ref name=Life>Durham, Michael. "Aimée—It Means 'To Be Loved'", Life Magazine, 19 May 1967 pp. 85–86.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Among her films were Alexandre Astruc's The Crimson Curtain (Le Rideau Cramoisi, 1953), Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita (1960), Fellini's 8½ (1963), Jacques Demy's Lola (1961), André Delvaux's One Night... A Train (Un Soir, un Train, 1968), George Cukor's Justine (1969), Bernardo Bertolucci's Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man (1981), Robert Altman's Prêt à Porter (Ready to Wear, 1994), and Claude Lelouch's A Man and a Woman (Un Homme et une femme, 1966) — described as a "film that virtually reignited the lush on-screen romance in an era of skeptical modernism."<ref name=Lewis/> Words like "regal," "intelligent", and "enigmatic" are frequently associated with her, notes one author, giving Aimée "an aura of disturbing and mysterious beauty" that earned her the status of "one of the hundred sexiest stars in film history," according to a 1995 poll conducted by Empire Magazine.<ref name=Lewis/>

Because of her "striking features" and her beauty, she has been compared to Jacqueline Kennedy. Film historian Ginette Vincendeau has commented that Aimée's films "established her as an ethereal, sensitive and fragile beauty with a tendency to tragic destinies or restrained suffering."<ref name=Lewis/>

Her abilities as an actress and the photogenic qualities of her face, its "fine lines, expression of elation and a suggestive gaze," helped her achieve success in her early films. Émile Savitry made an early portrait of her at 15, holding a kitten on the set of Carné's La Fleur de l'âge (1947).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Among others of her films of this period were Pot-Bouille (1957), Les Amants de Montparnasse (Montparnasse 19) (The Lovers of Montparnasse, (1958), and La tête contre les murs (Head Against the Wall, 1958).<ref name=Unterburger/>

Besides the French cinema, Aimée's career included films made in Spain, Great Britain, Italy, and Germany. She achieved worldwide attention in Fellini's La Dolce Vita (1960) and Lola (1961). She appeared again in Fellini's 8½, and would remain in Italy during the first half of the 1960s, making films for a number of Italian directors. Because of her role in La Dolce Vita, biographer Dave Thompson describes Aimée as a "rising star who exploded" onto the film world. He adds that singer-songwriter Patti Smith, who in her teens saw the film, began to idolise her, and "dreamed of being an actress like Aimée."<ref name=Thompson>Thompson, Dave. Dancing Barefoot: The Patti Smith Story, Chicago Review Press (2011) p. 17</ref><ref>Bockris, Victor; Bayley, Roberta. Patti Smith: An Unauthorized Biography, Simon and Schuster (1999) p. 33</ref>

Aimée's greatest success came with the film A Man and a Woman (Un homme et une femme, 1966) directed by Claude Lelouch. Primarily due to the excellent acting by its stars, Aimée and Jean-Louis Trintignant, and the beautiful musical score, the film became an international success, winning both the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1966 and two Oscars including Best Foreign Language Film. Tabery states that with her "subtle portrayal of the heroine—self-protective, then succumbing to a new love—Aimée seemed to create a new kind of femme fatale."<ref name=Unterburger/>

Film historian Jurgen Muller adds, "whether one likes the film or not, it's still hard for anyone to resist the melancholy aura of Anouk Aimée."<ref>Müller, Jürgen. Movies of the 60s, Taschen (2004) cover</ref> In many of her subsequent films, she would continue to play that type of role, "a woman of sensitivity whose emotions are often kept secret."<ref name=Unterburger/>

She starred in the American film production of Justine (1969), costarring Dirk Bogarde and directed by George Cukor and Joseph Strick. The film contained some nudity, with one writer observing, "Anouk is always impeccable, oozing the sexy, detached air of the elite . . . when she drops these trappings, along with her couture clothing, Anouk's naked perfection will annihilate you."<ref>Mr. Skin's Encyclopedia: A to Z Guide to Finding Your Favorite Actresses Naked, SK INtertainment (2005) p. 5</ref>

Photojournalist Eve Arnold, assigned to photograph and write a story about Aimée and her role, spoke to Dirk Bogarde, who had known her since she was fifteen. He said that "She is never so happy as when she is miserable between love affairs," referencing her recent love affair with Omar Sharif, her co-star in The Appointment (1969).<ref name=Arnold/> Arnold photographed Aimée, who talked about her role as the character Justine. Justine was also Jewish. Arnold recalls one of their talks:

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File:Anouk Aimée Cannes.jpg

Anouk Aimée at Cannes, 2007

Another American film, La Brava, starring Dustin Hoffman, was set to be made in 1984 but was never completed. Hoffman at first decided it would play better if he were in love with a younger girl rather than the original story's older woman. "Where are you going to get a good-looking older woman?" he asked. He rejected Faye Dunaway, feeling she was "too obvious." A month later, after a chance meeting with Aimée in Paris, he changed his mind, telling his producer, "I can fall in love with the older woman. I met Anouk Aimée over the weekend. She looks great." He begged his producer to at least talk to her: "Come on, get on the phone, say hello to her. . . Just listen to her voice, it's great."<ref>Grobel, Lawrence. Endangered Species: Writers Talk About Their Craft, Their Visions, Their Lives, Da Capo Press (2001) pp. 267–268</ref>

Robert Altman, at another time, wanted to use Aimée in a film to be called Lake Lugano, about a woman who was a Holocaust survivor returning long after the war. She "loved the script," according to Altman. However, she backed out after discussing the part with him more thoroughly:

I do remember he was like a bomb. He had a strong personality. He was tall, and he had a big voice. 'I want this,' and 'I want that.' I remember thinking it would be very difficult to work with him, and we didn't make the film.<ref>Zuckoff, Mitchell. Robert Altman: An Oral Biography, Random House (2009) pp. 138–39</ref>{{#if:|{{#if:|}}

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In 2002, she received an honorary César Award, France's national film award, and in 2003 received an Honorary Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.<ref name=Oscherwitz>Oscherwitz, Dayna. The A to Z of French Cinema, Scarecrow Press (2007), pg. 18</ref> In the 1960s, Life magazine called her "the Left Bank's most beautiful resident ... after each picture her enigmatic beauty lingered" in the memories of her audience.<ref name=Life/>

In late 2013, the Cinemania film festival in Montreal, Canada, paid tribute to Aimée's career.<ref>"Anouk Aimée: A charmed cinematic life" Template:Webarchive, The Gazette (Montreal), 8 November 2013.</ref>

Aimée reunited with director Claude Lelouch and co-star Jean-Louis Trintignant for a follow-up to Un homme et une femme and its sequel, A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later (Un homme et une femme, 20 ans deja, 1986) which is her final film.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The result, The Best Years of a Life (Les plus belles années d'une vie, 2019), was shown at Cannes out of competition.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Personal life

Aimée was married and divorced four times: Édouard Zimmermann (1949–1950), director Nico Papatakis (1951–1954), actor and musical producer Pierre Barouh (1966–1969), and actor Albert Finney (1970–1978).<ref name="nytobit" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She had one child, Manuela Papatakis (born 1951), from her second marriage. She died at her home in Paris on 18 June 2024, at the age of 92.<ref name="nytobit">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She was buried privately at the Saint-Vincent Cemetery in Paris on 25 June.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Status and legacy

Aimée was nominated for an Oscar as best actress for her role opposite Jean-Louis Trintignant in A Man and a Woman, becoming one of a relatively small number of actors to be nominated for a performance in a foreign film.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw wrote in an obituary for her that "The enigma, sensuality and vulnerability of Aimee's screen persona are all there in essence – and above all the loneliness that comes with beauty." According to Bradshaw, "She had something of the young Joan Crawford, or Marlene Dietrich, or her contemporary, the French model and actress Capucine. Aimée radiated an enigmatic sexual aura flavoured with melancholy, sophistication and worldly reserve" and "had a unique screen presence that was at once alluring and forbidding"<ref name="guardian obit">Template:Cite news</ref> He wrote about her role in La dolce vita that actress's "natural hauteur made her a natural for the role and, with her airy detachment and beauty, could be said almost to have invented Italian cinema's modish ennui which Michelangelo Antonioni later developed."<ref name="guardian obit"/>

French Culture Minister Rachida Dati tweeted on X: "We bid farewell to a world-famous icon, to a great actress of French cinema who took on roles for some of the biggest names, such as (Jacques) Demy, Lelouch and (Federico) Fellini."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Selected filmography

Year	Title	Role	Director	Template:Abr
1947	Template:Ill	Anouk	Henri Calef	<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1949	Les amants de Vérone ("The Lovers Of Verona")	Georgia Maglia (a modern Juliet)	André Cayatte	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1950	Golden Salamander	Anna	Ronald Neame	<ref name=":2" />
1952	La Bergère et le ramoneur (animation film)	Voice (the female shepherd)	Paul Grimault	<ref name=":2" />
	Le Rideau cramoisi	Albertine	Alexandre Astruc	<ref name=":2" />
	The Man Who Watched Trains Go By ("Paris Express")	Jeanne	Harold French	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1955	Contraband Spain	Elena Vargas	Lawrence Huntington	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Les Mauvaises rencontres ("Bad Liaisons")	Catherine Racan	Alexandre Astruc	<ref name=":2" />
1956	Ich suche Dich ("I seek you")	Françoise Maurer	O.W. Fischer	<ref name=":2" />
	Nina	Nina Iwanowa	Rudolf Jugert	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1957	Pot-Bouille ("Lovers of Paris")	Marie	Julien Duvivier	<ref name=":2" />
	Anyone Can Kill Me	Isabelle	Henri Decoin	<ref name=":2" />
1958	Les Amants de Montparnasse (Montparnasse 19)	Jeanne Hébuterne	Jacques Becker	<ref name=":2" />
1959	The Journey	Eva	Anatole Litvak	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	La tête contre les murs	Stéphanie	Georges Franju	<ref name=":2" />
	Les Dragueurs ("The Chasers")	Jeanne	Jean-Pierre Mocky	<ref name=":2" />
1960	La Dolce Vita	Maddalena	Federico Fellini	<ref name=":2" /><ref name="DLA"/>
	The Joker	Hélène Laroche	Philippe de Broca	<ref name=":2" />
1961	Il giudizio universale ("The Last Judgement")	Irene	Vittorio De Sica	<ref name=":3" />
	Lola	Lola	Jacques Demy	<ref name=":3" />
1962	Sodom and Gomorrah	Queen Bera	Robert Aldrich	<ref name=":0" />
	Il giorno più corto ("The shortest Day")	cameo appearance	Sergio Corbucci	<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
1963	Fellini's 8½	Luisa Anselmi	Federico Fellini	<ref name=":2" />
1964	Le voci bianche ("White Voices")	Lorenza	Pasquale Festa Campanile	<ref name=":3" />
	La fuga ("The Escape")	Luisa	Paolo Spinola	<ref name=":3" />
1965	The Dreamer ("Il Morbidone")	Valeria	Massimo Franciosa	<ref name=":3" />
1966	Un homme et une femme ("A Man and a Woman")	Anne Gauthier	Claude Lelouch	<ref name=":3" /><ref name="DLA"/>
1968	Un soir, un train (One Night... A Train)	Anne	André Delvaux	<ref name=":3" />
1969	Model Shop	Lola	Jacques Demy	<ref name=":0" />
	The Appointment	Carla	Sidney Lumet	<ref name=":0" />
	Justine	Justine	George Cukor	<ref name=":0" />
1976	Si c'était à refaire ("Second Chance")	Sarah Gordon	Claude Lelouch	<ref name=":3" />
1978	Mon premier amour	Jane Romain (the mother)	Élie Chouraqui	<ref name=":3" />
1979	(Salto nel vuoto) ("A Leap in the Dark")	Marta Ponticelli	Marco Bellocchio	<ref name=":3" />
1981	La Tragedia di un uomo ridicolo ("Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man")	Barbara Spaggiari	Bernardo Bertolucci	<ref name=":3" />
1983	Il generale dell'armata morte ("The General of the Dead Army")	Countess Betsy Mirafiore	Luciano Tovoli	<ref name=":3" />
	Viva la vie	Anouk	Claude Lelouch	<ref name=":3" />
1984	Success Is the Best Revenge	Monique des Fontaines	Jerzy Skolimowski	<ref name=":3" />
1986	Un Homme et une femme : vingt ans déjà ("A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later")	Anne Gauthier	Claude Lelouch	<ref name=":3" />
1990	Bethune: The Making of a Hero	Marie-France Coudaire	Phillip Borsos	<ref name=":2" />
1994	Les Cent et une nuits de Simon Cinéma ("A Hundred and One Nights")	Anouk	Agnès Varda	<ref name=":3" />
	Prêt-à-Porter ("Ready to wear")	Simone Lowenthal	Robert Altman	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1996	Hommes, femmes : mode d'emploi	the widow	Claude Lelouch	<ref name=":2" />
1997	Solomon	Bathsheba	Roger Young	<ref name=":2" />
1998	L.A. Without a Map	as herself	Mika Kaurismäki	<ref name=":2" />
1999	Une pour toutes ("One 4 All")	the musician's wife	Claude Lelouch	<ref name=":2" />
2002	Festival in Cannes	Millie Marquand	Henry Jaglom	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Napoléon	Letizia Bonaparte	Yves Simoneau	<ref name=":3" />
2003	Ils se marièrent et eurent beaucoup d'enfants ("Happily Ever After")	Vincent's mother	Yvan Attal	<ref name=":2" />
	La Petite prairie aux bouleaux	Myriam	Marceline Loridan-Ivens	<ref name=":3" />
2010	Paris Connections	Agnès	Harley Cokeliss	<ref name=":2" />
2011	Tous les soleils ("Silence of love")	Agathe	Philippe Claudel	<ref name=":2" />
2012	Mince alors!	mother	Charlotte de Turckheim	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2019	The Best Years of a Life	Anne Gauthier	Claude Lelouch	<ref name=":2" />

External links

• [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if:

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• {{#if:Anouk Aimée|Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at Discogs|{{#if:Template:Wikidata|Template:Wikidata Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at DiscogsTemplate:EditAtWikidata|Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at Discogs}}}}
• AIMÉE Anouk Template:Webarchive International Who's Who. Retrieved 1 September 2006.
• Sandy Flitterman-Lewis, Anouk Aimée, Jewish Women Encyclopedia
• Photographs and literature
• video Template:YouTube