Michèle Morgan

Michèle Morgan ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}; born Simone Renée Roussel; 29 February 1920 – 20 December 2016) was a French film actress, who was a leading lady for three decades in both French cinema and Hollywood features. She is considered one of the greatest French actresses of the 20th century.<ref name="lefigobit">Template:Cite news</ref> Morgan was the inaugural winner of the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1992, she was given an honorary César Award for her contributions to French cinema.

Early life

Morgan was born Simone Renée Roussel<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, a suburb of Paris.<ref name="lemondeobit">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="washingtonpostobit">Template:Cite news</ref> She grew up in Dieppe, Seine-Maritime, France.<ref name="lemondeobit"/><ref name="washingtonpostobit"/>

Career

Morgan left home at the age of 15 for Paris determined to become an actress.<ref name="lemondeobit"/><ref name="hollywoodreporterobit">Template:Cite news</ref> She took acting lessons from René Simon while serving as an extra in several films to pay for her drama classes.<ref name="lemondeobit"/> It was then that she took the stage name "Michèle Morgan".<ref name="lemondeobit"/> She argued that she did not have the body type of a Simone, and "Morgan" sounded more Hollywood-friendly.<ref name="lemondeobit"/>

Morgan was first noticed by director Marc Allégret, who offered her a major role in the film Gribouille (1937), opposite Raimu.<ref name="lemondeobit"/> Then came Le Quai des brumes (1938) directed by Marcel Carné and Remorques (1941) directed by Jean Grémillon, both opposite Jean Gabin.<ref name="lemondeobit"/>

File:Michele Morgan in The Vintage 2.jpg

From the trailer for The Vintage (1957)

Upon the invasion of France in 1940 by the Germans, Morgan left for the United States and Hollywood where she was contracted to RKO Pictures in 1941.<ref name="lemondeobit"/> Her career there proved rather disappointing, apart from Joan of Paris (1942) opposite Paul Henreid, and Higher and Higher (1943) opposite Frank Sinatra.<ref name="washingtonpostobit"/> She was tested and strongly considered for the female lead in Casablanca but RKO would not release her for the amount of money that Warner Bros. offered.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Morgan did work for Warners, however, in Passage to Marseille (1944) with Humphrey Bogart.<ref name="lemondeobit"/>

File:Michèle Morgan Césars.jpg

Morgan in 1995

After the war, Morgan returned to France and quickly resumed her career with the film La Symphonie Pastorale (1946) directed by Jean Delannoy, which earned her the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival.<ref name="lemondeobit"/> Her other films from this period include; Carol Reed's The Fallen Idol (1948), Fabiola (1949), The Proud and the Beautiful (1953) by Yves Allégret, Les Grandes Manœuvres (1955) by René Clair and Marie-Antoinette reine de France (1956).<ref name="washingtonpostobit"/> She continued working in films throughout the 1960s, such as in Lost Command (1966), a version of Les Centurions.<ref name="washingtonpostobit"/> In the 1970s, she virtually retired from her acting career, then made only occasional appearances in film, television and theatre.<ref name="washingtonpostobit"/>

For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Morgan has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1645 Vine Street.<ref name="hollywoodreporterobit"/> In 1969, the government of France awarded her the Légion d'Honneur.<ref name="hollywoodreporterobit"/> For her long service to the French motion picture industry, in 1992 she was given an Honorary César Award.<ref name="hollywoodreporterobit"/> In 1996, she also received the Career Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the Venice Film Festival.<ref name="hollywoodreporterobit"/>

Morgan took up painting in the 1960s.<ref name="washingtonpostobit" /> She had a solo exhibition, "Artistes En Lumière à Paris", from 2 March to 30 April 2009, at the Espace Cardin in Paris.<ref name="francedimanchejetouche">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1977 she released her memoir, titled With Those Eyes (Avec ces yeux-là).<ref name="lemondeobit" />

Personal life and death

While in Hollywood, Morgan married William Marshall (1917–1994), in 1942, with whom she had a son, Mike Marshall (1944–2005).<ref name="washingtonpostobit"/> Morgan had built and owned a house at 10050 Cielo Drive. Morgan and Marshall divorced in 1948. She married French actor Henri Vidal (1919–1959) in 1950. She remained with him until his death in 1959. She then lived with film director and actor/writer Gérard Oury until his death in 2006.<ref name="washingtonpostobit"/>

Morgan died on 20 December 2016, aged 96, in Meudon, France of natural causes.<ref name="lemondeobit"/><ref name="washingtonpostobit"/> Her funeral was held at the Église Saint-Pierre in Neuilly-sur-Seine on 23 December 2016, and she was buried at the Montparnasse Cemetery.<ref name="lefigobit"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Despite living to the age of 96, she technically only had 24 birthdays due to being born on 29 February.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes
1935	Mademoiselle Mozart<ref name="lubbockmichelemorgan">Template:Cite news</ref>	The trainer of the white elephant	Yvan Noé	credited as Simone Morgan
1937	Gribouille<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref>	Nathalie Roguin	Marc Allégret	remade as The Lady in Question in 1940
1938	Orage<ref name=":1" />	Françoise Massart	Marc Allégret	with Charles Boyer
	Port of Shadows<ref name=":2">Template:Cite book</ref>	Nelly	Marcel Carné	with Jean Gabin
	Nightclub Hostess<ref name="vincendeau143">Template:Cite book</ref>	Suzy	Albert Valentin	written by Charles Spaak
1939	Coral Reefs<ref name="lemondeobit"/>	Lilian White	Maurice Gleize	with Jean Gabin
	Musicians of the Sky<ref name="bfilesmusiciens">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Lieutenant Saulnier	Georges Lacombe	with Michel Simon
1940	Stormy Waters<ref name="lemondeobit"/>	Catherine	Jean Grémillon	based on a novel by Roger Vercel
	The Heart of a Nation<ref name="bfiuntel">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Marie Froment-Léonard	Julien Duvivier	with Raimu
1941	My Life with Caroline<ref name="canalplusbio">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	"Annette" (uncredited)	Lewis Milestone	written by John Van Druten
1942	La Loi du nord<ref name="bfilaloidunord">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Jacqueline Bert	Jacques Feyder	based on a novel by Maurice Constantin-Weyer
	Joan of Paris<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref>	Joan	Robert Stevenson	with Paul Henreid
1943	Two Tickets to London<ref name=":2" />	Jeanne	Edwin L. Marin	with Alan Curtis
	Higher and Higher<ref name=":2" />	Millie Pico alias Paméla Drake	Tim Whelan	Frank Sinatra's film debut
1944	Passage to Marseille<ref name=":0" />	Paula	Michael Curtiz	with Humphrey Bogart
1946	The Chase<ref name=":0" />	Lorna Roman	Arthur Ripley	with Robert Cummings
	Pastoral Symphony<ref name="lemondeobit"/>	Gertrude (the young blind woman)	Jean Delannoy	Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress with Pierre Blanchar
1947	The Fallen Idol<ref name="washingtonpostobit"/>	Julie	Carol Reed	with Ralph Richardson and Bobby Henrey.
1948	To the Eyes of Memory<ref name="bfiauxyeuxdusouvenir">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Claire Magny	Jean Delannoy	with Jean Marais
1949	The Fighting Gladiator<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	Fabiola	Alessandro Blasetti	with Henri Vidal
	Here Is the Beauty<ref name="bfilabellequevoila">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Jeanne Morel	Jean-Paul Le Chanois	based on a novel by Vicki Baum
1950	The Glass Castle<ref name=":1" />	Evelyne Lorin-Bertal	René Clément	two versions, one filmed in Italian
	The Strange Madame X<ref name="bfiletrange">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Irène Voisin-Larive	Jean Grémillon	with Henri Vidal
	The Naked Heart<ref name="lemondeobit"/>	Maria Chapdelaine	Marc Allégret	based on the novel by Louis Hémon
1951	The Seven Deadly Sins<ref name="bfiles7peches">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Anne-Marie de Pallières	Claude Autant-Lara	episode "Pride"
1952	The Moment of Truth<ref name="bfilora">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Madeleine Richard	Jean Delannoy	with Jean Gabin
1953	The Proud and the Beautiful<ref name="bfilesorgueilleux">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Nelly	Yves Allégret	with Gérard Philipe
1954	Love, Soldiers and Women<ref name="washingtonpostobit"/>	Joan of Arc	Jean Delannoy	episode "Jeanne"
	Obsession<ref name="bfiobsession">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Hélène Giovanni	Jean Delannoy	based on a novel by Cornell Woolrich
	Napoléon<ref name="lemondeobit"/>	Joséphine de Beauharnais	Sacha Guitry	Daniel Gélin/Raymond Pellegrin as Napoléon
1955	The Grand Maneuver<ref name="lemondeobit"/>	Marie-Louise Rivière	René Clair	with Gérard Philipe
	Marguerite of the Night<ref name="bfimarguerite">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Marguerite	Claude Autant-Lara	with Yves Montand
	Marie Antoinette Queen of France<ref name="lemondeobit"/>	Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France	Jean Delannoy	with Richard Todd
	If Paris Were Told to Us<ref name="bfisiparisnousetait">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Gabrielle d'Estrées	Sacha Guitry	portraying the mistress of Henry IV of France
1956	Oasis<ref name="bfiloase">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Françoise Lignières	Yves Allégret	with Pierre Brasseur
1957	The Vintage<ref name="bfivintage">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Léonne Morel	Jeffrey Hayden	with Mel Ferrer
	There's Always a Price Tag<ref name="bfiretourdemanivelle">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Hélène Fréminger	Denys de La Patellière	with Daniel Gélin and Peter van Eyck
1958	The Mirror Has Two Faces<ref name="bfilemiroiradeuxfaces">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Marie-Josée Tardivet, Pierre's wife	André Cayatte	with Bourvil and Ivan Desny
	Maxime<ref name="bfimaxime">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Jacqueline Monneron	Henri Verneuil	with Charles Boyer
	Girls for the Summer<ref name="bfiracconti">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Micheline	Gianni Franciolini	comedy with Alberto Sordi
1959	Menschen im Hotel<ref name="bfimenschen">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	La Grusinskaïa	Gottfried Reinhardt	with O. W. Fischer
	Winter Holidays<ref name="bfivacanze">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Steffa Tardier	Camillo Mastrocinque	with Georges Marchal
	The Wretches<ref name="bfilesscelerats">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Thelma Rooland	Robert Hossein	with Olivier Hussenot
	Why Do You Come So Late?<ref name="bfipourquoivienstusitard">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Catherine Ferrer	Henri Decoin	with Henri Vidal
1960	Fortunat<ref name="bfifortunat">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Juliette Valcourt	Alex Joffé	title character played by Bourvil
1961	Three Faces of Sin<ref name="bfilepuitsauxtrois">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Renée Plège	François Villiers	with Jean-Claude Brialy
	The Lions Are Loose<ref name="bfileslionssontlaches">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Cécile	Henri Verneuil	with Jean-Claude Brialy
1962	Landru<ref name="bfilandru">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Célestine Buisson	Claude Chabrol	with Charles Denner
	Meetings<ref name="bfirencontres">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Bella Krastner	Philippe Agostini	with Gabriele Ferzetti
	Crime Does Not Pay<ref name="bfilecrimenepaiepas">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Jeanne Hugues	Gérard Oury	episode "The Hugues Case"
	The Winner<ref name="unifranceuncoeur">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	As herself	François Reichenbach	Louis Delluc Prize, Golden Leopard
1963	Be Careful Ladies<ref name="bfimefiezvous">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Denise Duparc	André Hunebelle	with Paul Meurisse
	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Constance	François Villiers	with Dany Saval
1964	Marked Eyes<ref name="bfilesyeuxcernes">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Florence	Robert Hossein	starring the film's director
	The Last Steps<ref name="bfilespasperdus">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Yolande Simonet	Jacques Robin	with Jean-Louis Trintignant
	The Scapegoat<ref name="bfiilfornarettodi">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Princess Sofia	Duccio Tessari	based on a novel by Francesco Dall'Ongaro
1965	Tell Me Whom to Kill<ref name="bfitellmewhotokill">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Geneviève Montanet	Étienne Périer	with Paul Hubschmid
1966	Lost Command<ref name="washingtonpostobit"/>	The Countess of Clairfond	Mark Robson	with Anthony Quinn
1967	La Bien-aimée<ref name="bfilabien">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Fanny Dréal	Jacques Doniol-Valcroze	TV film
	The Diary of an Innocent Boy<ref name="lemondeobit"/>	The Countess	Michel Deville	with Pierre Clémenti and Michel Piccoli
1975	Cat and Mouse<ref name="lemondeobit"/>	Madame Richard	Claude Lelouch	with Serge Reggiani
1986	Le Tiroir secret<ref name="bfiletiroir">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Colette Dutilleul-Lemarchand	Édouard Molinaro, Roger Gillioz, Michel Boisrond, Nadine Trintignant	TV miniseries, 6 episodes
1990	Everybody's Fine<ref name="latimestonatorewilmington">Template:Cite news</ref>	A woman in the train	Giuseppe Tornatore	with Marcello Mastroianni

Trivia

The former President of Chile Michelle Bachelet was named after Michèle Morgan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

She almost played Ilsa Lund in Casablanca.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Further reading

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External links

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• Michèle Morgan at filmsdefrance.com
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• Photographs of Michèle Morgan