Nathalie Delon

Nathalie Delon
Delon in The Sisters (1969)
Born
Francine Canovas

(1941-08-01)1 August 1941
Oujda, French Protectorate in Morocco
Died21 January 2021(2021-01-21) (aged 79)
Paris, France
Occupations
  • actress
  • model
  • film director
  • writer
Years active1965–2010
Known for
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Spouses
Guy Barthélémy
​
​
(m. 1957; div. 1964)​
​
​
(m. 1964; div. 1969)​
PartnerChris Blackwell (1978–1993)
Children
Websitewww.nathaliedelon.com

Nathalie Delon (born Francine Canovas, also known as Nathalie Barthélémy; 1 August 1941 – 21 January 2021) was a French actress, model, film director and writer.[1] In the 1960s, Nathalie was regarded as one of the most beautiful women in the world[2] and in the 1970s, she was considered a French sex symbol. She is well known for her first acting role, appearing opposite her husband, actor Alain Delon, in the neo-noir film Le Samouraï directed by Jean-Pierre Melville (1967). She appeared in 30 films and directed two others. Nathalie was also credited as the muse of the Rolling Stones.[3]

Early life

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Francine Canovas was born on 1 August 1941 in Oujda,[4] then under the French Protectorate in Morocco to a French family of Italian-Spanish origin.[5] She was the daughter of Louis Canovas (1915–2003), pied-noir of Oran (Algeria), manager of a transport company in Morocco, who abandoned the family when she was 8 months old in 1942[6] and Antoinette Rodriguez, who was from Melilla.[7] Nathalie had a sister, Louisette, and a brother.

Personal life

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In 1957,[8] Nathalie married a conscript from the north of France, Guy Barthélémy, who later became the signing officer for Omnium Marocain d'Assurance. They lived in Morocco and had a daughter named Nathalie Barthélémy. The marriage ended in 1960 and the following year she moved to Paris.[9] Their divorce was granted in July 1964.

In August 1962, Nathalie met French actor Alain Delon at New Jimmy's, a Paris nightclub, and they began a secret relationship that night that lasted one year.[10] In May 1963, Nathalie accompanied Delon to the shoot of his new film La Tulipe Noire.[11] The couple became engaged in April 1964 and on 13 August 1964, they married in Loir-et-Cher. Their son, Anthony Delon, was born on September 30, 1964, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. They were one of the most glamorous and talked-about couples of the 1960s. In June 1968, Nathalie and Delon separated.[12] The couple later divorced on 14 February 1969. They worked together on two films: Le Samouraï, whilst they were married, and Doucement les Basses after their divorce.

During the 1960s and 1970s she dated Bobby Keys, Marc Porel, Eddie Fisher, Renaud Verley, Louis Malle, and Franco Nero, among others. Her greatest love was Chris Blackwell, whom she was with for 15 years (1978–1993).

Career

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During the 1960s, Nathalie Delon was a model. She was photographed by top French and foreign photographers for famous magazines such as Vogue.[13]

In 1967, Nathalie became a film actress, starring opposite her husband in the film Le Samouraï by Jean-Pierre Melville, which became a hit.[5] Writing of the Delons' performances in Le Figaro, Bertrand Guyard notes husband and wife are both nearly silent but "their gazes, fraught with meaning, are enough to thrill the camera" with the director drawing from their portrayals "a mythical couple in the seventh art."[6]

Afterwards, Nathalie Delon continued her acting career until the 1980s. In 1968 she appeared in The Private Lesson, which made her a star in Japan, ranking her in the top 10 of foreign actresses. In 1971, she appeared in When Eight Bells Toll with Anthony Hopkins and in 1972 she appeared in The Monk with Franco Nero. In 1973, she acted in Le Sex Shop, and her role was one of the film's "moments of real pleasure, as one of its "really marvelous girls", commented Roger Greenspun in The New York Times.[14]

In addition to acting in 30 films during her career, she directed two: one was the story—also written by Delon—of a mother whose son dies in surgery, Ils appellent ça un accident [fr] (transl. They Call It an Accident) in 1982, and the other was Sweet Lies in 1988.[15]

Later life

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In 2006, Delon published a memoir, Pleure pas, c'est pas grave (Don't cry, it's okay). Le Figaro described it as an account of "her darker period, her marriage to Delon, her descent into hell with drugs. But still full of life, she also recounts the exceptional encounters she has had with people who made her laugh and who make us laugh too. Delightful and entertaining anecdotes".[16]

Nathalie Delon died at the age of 79 in Paris on 21 January 2021 from pancreatic cancer.[17][18]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Director Notes Ref.
1967 Le Samouraï Jane Lagrange Jean-Pierre Melville With Alain Delon [6]
1968 The Private Lesson Frederique Dampierre Michel Boisrond [19]
1969 Le sorelle (The Sisters) Diana Roberto Malenotti [20]
1969 La Main Sylvie Henri Glaeser [19]
1969 Army of Shadows a friend of Jean-François Jean-Pierre Melville Uncredited [21]
1971 Doucement les basses (Easy Down There!) Rita Jacques Deray With Alain Delon [21]
1971 When Eight Bells Toll Charlotte Skouras Étienne Périer With Anthony Hopkins [22]
1972 Bluebeard Erika Edward Dmytryk With Richard Burton [23]
1972 Le Sex Shop Jacqueline Claude Berri [14]
1972 Repeated Absences Sophie Guy Gilles [19]
1972 The Monk Mathilde Adonis A. Kyrou With Franco Nero [24]
1973 L'Histoire très bonne et très joyeuse de Colinot trousse-chemise Bertrade Nina Companeez [19]
1973 Profession: Aventuriers Marie Chapuis Claude Mulot [19]
1974 Vous intéressez-vous à la chose ? Lise Jacques Baratier [25]
1974 Hold-Up – Atraco en la Costa Azul Judy Germán Lorente [19]
1975 The Romantic Englishwoman Miranda Joseph Losey [26]
1975 Docteur Justice Karine Christian-Jaque [27]
1976 Une femme fidèle Flora de Saint-Gilles Roger Vadim [28]
1976 Un sussurro nel buio (A Whisper in the Dark) Camilla Marcello Aliprandi [19]
1977 Fire in the Water as herself Peter Whitehead With Peter Whitehead [29]
1977 L'avventurosa fuga: Gli ultimi angeli Elisabetta Enzo Doria [30]
1978 The Man in the Rushes Loraine Manfred Purzer [19]
1978 Seagulls Fly Low Isabelle Michereau Giorgio Cristallini [31]
1978 Occhi dalle stelle (Eyes Behind the Stars) Monica Stiles Mario Gariazzo [19]
1979 Le Temps des Vacances Martine Claude Vital [19]
1980 La Bande du Rex Janine Jean-Henri Meunier [19]
1982 Ils appellent ça un accident Julie Fabre Nathalie Delon Also director and writer [15]
1983 Pair-impairment Carole Marquand Short film [19]
1988 Sweet Lies — Nathalie Delon Director only [19]
2008 Nuit de chien Risso Werner Schroeter [32]
2009 Mensch Liliane Hazak Steve Suissa [33]

Television

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Television credits of Nathalie Delon
Year Title Role Director Notes Ref.
1965 Dim Dam Dom Herself TV series documentary
1967 Dim Dam Dom Herself TV series documentary
1968 Dim Dam Dom Herself TV series documentary
1978 Madame le juge Françoise Muller Raymond Thévenet Miniseries (6 episodes) [34]
1979 Euphorie II Danielle Saura Philippe Ducrest Television film
1979 Efficax Hélène Chapel Philippe Ducrest Television film [35]
1978-81 Histoires de voyous Irène Pierre Goutas TV series (9 episodes) [36]

Publications

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Novel

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  • Au plus fort de l'orage : roman (in French). Paris: R. Laffont. 1994. ISBN 978-2221075630.

Memoir

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References

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  1. ^ "Nathalie Delon est morte". Paris Match (in French). 21 January 2021. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Glamorous French star Nathalie Delon dies at 79". France 24. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  3. ^ Stadiem, William (3 June 2014). Jet Set: The People, the Planes, the Glamour, and the Romance in Aviation's Glory Years. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-345-53697-6.
  4. ^ Birth extract Archived 28 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine on Les gens du cinéma
  5. ^ a b "Glamorous French star Nathalie Delon dies at 79". France 24. 21 January 2021. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  6. ^ a b c Guyard, Bertrand (21 January 2021). "Nathalie Delon, éternelle complice du Samouraï". Le Figaro (in French). Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  7. ^ Forster, Siegfried (21 January 2021). "L'actrice Nathalie Delon est décédée à l'âge de 79 ans" (in French). Radio France Internationale. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Mort de Nathalie Delon: qui était son premier mari Guy Barthélémy qui l'a privée de sa fille?". yahoo!actualités (in French). 21 January 2021. Archived from the original on 31 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  9. ^ Bonnet, Solène (21 January 2021). "Alain et Nathalie Delon, un couple fulgurant en images". Madame Figaro. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  10. ^ Delon, Nathalie (13 April 2010). Pleure pas, c'est pas grave (in French). Flammarion. ISBN 978-2-08-123399-7.
  11. ^ Delon, Nathalie (13 April 2010). Pleure pas, c'est pas grave (in French). Flammarion. ISBN 978-2-08-123399-7.
  12. ^ Delon, Nathalie (13 April 2010). Pleure pas, c'est pas grave (in French). Flammarion. ISBN 978-2-08-123399-7.
  13. ^ "Nathalie Delon, Vogue Paris, August 1967. | Vintage vogue covers, Vogue photo, Magazine cover". Pinterest. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  14. ^ a b Greenspun, Roger (3 August 1973). "'Le Sex Shop' Sells the Devil's Merchandise, Purely". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  15. ^ a b "The trials of Nathalie Delon". The Guardian. 19 March 1983. p. 11. ProQuest 186433385.
  16. ^ "BIOGRAPHIE DE NATHALIE DELON". LeFigaro.fr Scope (in French). August 1941. Archived from the original on 31 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  17. ^ "Mort de Nathalie Delon, actrice et ancienne épouse d'Alain Delon". Le Figaro (in French). Agence France-Presse. 21 January 2021. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  18. ^ Bentura, Nathanaël (21 January 2022). "Nathalie Delon : cette personne qu'elle voulait auprès d'elle avant de mourir". Gala (in French). Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Murió Nathalie Delon: en qué películas encontrar a la talentosa actriz francesa". www.lanacion.com.ar (in Spanish). 22 January 2021. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  20. ^ Curti, Robert (21 May 2018). Mavericks of Italian Cinema: Eight Unorthodox Filmmakers, 1940s–2000s. McFarland & Company. p. 126. ISBN 978-1-4766-3300-8.
  21. ^ a b Grater, Tom (22 January 2021). "Nathalie Delon Dies: Glamorous French Actress Who Starred In 'Le Samourai' Opposite Husband Alain Delon Was 79". Deadline. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  22. ^ Canby, Vincent (27 May 1971). "'When Eight Bells, Toll,' Melodrama by MacLean". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 31 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  23. ^ Landis, John (19 September 2011). Monsters in the Movies. Penguin Books. p. 287. ISBN 978-0-7566-8846-2.
  24. ^ Lachasse, Jerôme. "Mort de l'actrice Nathalie Delon, ex-femme d'Alain et mère d'Anthony Delon" (in French). BFM TV. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  25. ^ Goble, Alan (8 September 2011). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. De Gruyter. p. 149. ISBN 978-3-11-095194-3.
  26. ^ Canby, Vincent (27 November 1975). "Obsessed 'Romantic Englishwoman'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 31 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  27. ^ Moscati, Massimo (1986). I predatori del sogno: i fumetti e il cinema (in Italian). Edizioni Dedalo. p. 156. ISBN 978-88-220-4517-1. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  28. ^ "L'actrice française Nathalie Delon, ex-épouse d'Alain Delon, est morte". Radio-Canada (in Canadian French). Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  29. ^ Rascaroli, Laura (2011). "Burning Passions, Flammable Decade: Cinema, Avant-Garde, Self, and Society in Fire in the Water (1977)". Framework: The Journal of Cinema and Media. 52 (2): 654–666. doi:10.1353/frm.2011.0094. ISSN 1559-7989. S2CID 190491180.
  30. ^ Chiti, Roberto; Poppi, Roberto; Pecorari, Mario (1991). Dizionario del cinema italiano (in Italian). Gremese Editore. p. 86. ISBN 978-88-7605-935-3. Archived from the original on 31 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  31. ^ Curti, Roberto (28 September 2013). Italian Crime Filmography, 1968–1980. McFarland & Company. p. 252. ISBN 978-1-4766-1208-9.
  32. ^ "Mort de Nathalie Delon: hommages et réactions émues". Paris Match (in French). 21 January 2021. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  33. ^ Daehn, Ricardo (22 January 2021). "Aos 79 anos, morre a modelo, cineasta e atriz Nathalie Delon". Correio Braziliense (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  34. ^ Madame le juge (Crime, Drama), France 2 (FR2), Taurus Film, Technisonor, 11 March 1978, retrieved 21 March 2022
  35. ^ Ducrest, Philippe (28 February 1979), Efficax, retrieved 21 March 2022
  36. ^ Histoires de voyous, Antenne 2 (A2), 3 June 1978, retrieved 21 March 2022
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