Editing Simone Signoret (section)

== Career ==
During the occupation of France, Signoret mixed with an artistic group of writers and actors who met at the [[Café de Flore]] in the [[Saint-Germain-des-Prés]] quarter.{{sfn|David|1993|pp=28-29}} By this time, she had developed an interest in acting and was encouraged by her friends, including her lover [[Daniel Gélin]] to follow her ambition.{{cn|date=May 2025}} In 1942, she began appearing in bit parts and was able to earn enough money to support her mother and two brothers as her father, who was a French patriot, had fled the country in 1940 to join General [[Charles de Gaulle|De Gaulle]] in England. She took her mother's maiden name for the screen to help hide her Jewish roots.{{sfn|David|1993|pp=30-31}}

Signoret's sensual features and earthy nature led to type-casting and she was often seen in roles as a prostitute.<ref name="nytobit">{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/01/movies/simone-signoret-dies-in-france-at-64.html | work=[[The New York Times]] | title=Simone Signoret Dies in France at 64 | first=Eric | last=Pace | date=1 October 1985 |url-access=subscription | access-date=25 May 2025}}</ref><ref name="timesobit">{{Cite news |date=1 October 1985 |title=Obituary: Simone Signoret, Well-loved French actress |work=[[The Times]] |issue=62257 |page=18}}</ref>{{sfn|David|1993|p=8}}<ref name="monush">{{cite book |last=Monush |first=Barry |year=2003 |title=The Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors: From the Silent Era to 1965 |location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/screenworldprese0000monu |url-access=registration |publisher=[[Applause Books]] |page=680 |isbn=1-55783-551-9}}</ref> She won considerable attention in ''[[La Ronde (1950 film)|La Ronde]]'' (1950),{{sfn|Bouchardeau|2005|pp=65-67}} a film which was banned briefly in New York City as immoral.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/01/06/archives/court-sees-banned-film-u-s-justices-view-la-ronde-in-state.html | work=[[The New York Times]] | title=Court Sees Banned Film: U.S. Justices View 'La Ronde' in State Censorship Case | date=6 January 1954 |url-access=subscription | access-date=26 May 2025}}</ref> She won further acclaim, including an acting award from the British Film Academy, for her portrayal of another prostitute, [[Amélie Élie]], in [[Jacques Becker]]'s ''[[Casque d'or]]'' (1951).<ref>{{Cite news |date=30 September 1990 |title=Scarred by a great beauty |first=Robin |last=Smyth |work=[[The Observer]] |page=56}}</ref><ref name="1953bafta">{{cite web|url=https://www.bafta.org/awards/film/foreign-actress|title=BAFTA {{!}} Film / Foreign Actress {{!}} Through the Years {{!}} 1953|website=bafta.org|access-date=2025-05-26}}</ref> She appeared in many French films during the 1950s, including ''[[Thérèse Raquin (1953 film)|Thérèse Raquin]]'' (1953), directed by [[Marcel Carné]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cinematheque.fr/film/47326.html|title=Thérèse Raquin|language=French|website=cinematheque.fr|access-date=2025-05-28}}</ref> ''[[Les Diaboliques (film)|Les Diaboliques]]'' (1954),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cinematheque.fr/film/47752.html|title=Les Diaboliques|language=French|website=cinematheque.fr|access-date=2025-05-28}}</ref> and ''[[The Crucible (1957 film)|The Crucible]]'' (''Les Sorcières de Salem''; 1956), based on [[Arthur Miller]]'s ''[[The Crucible]]''.{{sfn|Bouchardeau|2005|pp=93-101}}
[[File:Room at the Top screenshot.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Simone Signoret with [[Laurence Harvey]] in ''[[Room at the Top (1959 film)|Room at the Top]]''; the film established her as an international actress.]]

In 1958, Signoret acted in the English independent film ''[[Room at the Top (1959 film)|Room at the Top]]'' (1959),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/440778/index.html |title=Room at the Top (1958) |first=Phil|last=Wickham |work=[[Screenonline]] |access-date=25 May 2025}}</ref> and her performance won numerous awards, including the [[Prix d'interprétation féminine|Best Female Performance Prize]] at [[Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]]<ref name="timesobit" /> and the [[Academy Award for Best Actress]].<ref name="1960oscars" /> She was offered films in Hollywood, but turned them down for several years,{{sfn|Bouchardeau|2005|p=67}}<ref name="monush" /> continuing to work in France and England—for example, with [[Laurence Olivier]] in ''[[Term of Trial]]'' (1962).<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/01/31/archives/screen-term-of-trialoliviers-acting-fails-to-save-new-film-the-cast.html | work=[[The New York Times]] | title=Screen: 'Term of Trial' | first=Bosley | last=Crowther | author-link=Bosley Crowther | date=31 January 1963 |url-access=subscription | access-date=29 May 2025}}</ref> She earned another Oscar nomination for her work on ''[[Ship of Fools (film)|Ship of Fools]]'' (1965),<ref name="1966oscars" /> appeared in a few other Hollywood films, and returned to France in 1969.<ref name="monush" />

In 1962, Signoret translated [[Lillian Hellman]]'s play ''[[The Little Foxes]]'' into French for a production in Paris that ran for six months at the [[Théâtre Sarah-Bernhardt]]. She played the Regina role as well. Hellman was displeased with the production, although the translation was approved by scholars selected by Hellman.<ref>Signoret 1978, pp. 324–328.</ref>

Signoret's one attempt at Shakespeare, performing [[Macbeth|Lady Macbeth]] with [[Alec Guinness]] at the [[Royal Court Theatre]] in London in 1966 proved to be ill-advised, with some harsh critics; one referred to her English as "impossibly Gallic".<ref>Sutcliffe, Tom. [http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Guardian/0,4029,351452,00.html "Sir Alec Guinness".] ''Film Guardian'', 7 August 2000.</ref>

Signoret won acclaim for her portrayal of a weary madam in ''[[Madame Rosa]]'' (1977)<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/03/19/archives/screen-moishe-mizrahis-rosa.html | work=[[The New York Times]] | title=Moishe Mizrahi's 'Rosa' | first=Vincent | last=Canby | author-link=Vincent Canby | date=19 March 1978 |url-access=subscription | access-date=25 May 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=12 April 1979 |title=An age of decision |first=Eric |last=Shorter |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |issue=38522 |page=15}}</ref>{{sfn|Bouchardeau|2005|p=242}} and as an unmarried sister who unknowingly falls in love with her paralyzed brother via anonymous correspondence in ''{{Interlanguage link|Chère inconnue|fr|3=Chère inconnue|lt=I Sent a Letter to my Love}}'' (1980).<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 November 1980 |title=Distinctive style in a sturdy retrospective |first=David |last=Robinson |author-link=David Robinson (film critic) |work=[[The Times]] |issue=60767 |page=8}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/03/movies/moshe-mizrahi-s-i-sent-a-letter-to-my-love.html | work=[[The New York Times]] | title=Moshe Mizrahi's 'I Sent a Letter to My Love' | first=Vincent | last=Canby | author-link=Vincent Canby | date=3 May 1981 |url-access=subscription | access-date=25 May 2025}}</ref> She continued to act until her death, working on the [[miniseries]] ''Music-Hall'' while terminally ill.<ref name="latobit" />{{sfn|Bouchardeau|2005|pp=265-267}}