Anicée Alvina, also known as Anicée Schahmaneche (born Anicée Shahmanesh or Anicee Schahmane ( fa, انیسه شاهمنش; 28 January 1953 – 11 November 2006) was a French singer and actress.

Early life and career

Alvina was born at

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the Parisian area, located from its Kilometre zero, centre. It is a Subprefectures in ...

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a Departments of France, département in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, Northern France. It covers Paris's western inner Banlieue, suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the e ...

. Her French mother and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian father owned a house on Rue de Verdun in

Le Vésinet Le Vésinet () is a suburban commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is a part of the affluent outer suburbs of western Paris, from the centre of Paris. In 2019, it had a population of 15,943. ...

, where Alvina attended the Lycée Alain. After her 1969 graduation from the Conservatory in

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Saint-Germanois'' or ''Saint-Ge ...

Alvina made her screen debut in '' Elle boit pas, elle fume pas, elle drague pas, mais... elle cause !'' ( fr) in 1970. Her second screen appearance was in the 1971

Lewis Gilbert Lewis Gilbert (6 March 1920 – 23 February 2018) was an English film director, producer and screenwriter who directed more than 40 films during six decades; among them such varied titles as '' Reach for the Sky'' (1956), ''Sink the Bismarck!' ...

film ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...

'', which would stay as her sole claim to international fame. The movie featured songs composed by

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

and Bernie Taupin, and a subsequent best-selling OST album by the former. The film included a scene of the seventeen-year-old Alvina's distantly-shot frontal nudity, albeit the actress was playing a fourteen-year-old character. She also starred in the 1974

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

of ''Friends'', entitled ''

Paul and Michelle ''Paul and Michelle'' is a 1974 drama film directed and produced by Lewis Gilbert, whose story Vernon Harris and Angela Huth dramatized. It is a sequel to the 1971 film ''Friends,'' by the same director and with the same lead actors. Plot Taking ...

,'' although this followup movie was not as successful. Alvina appeared regularly on the French screen, both cinema and television, throughout the 1970s chiefly in

nymphet "Lolita" is an English-language term defining a young girl as "precociously seductive." It originates from Vladimir Nabokov's 1955 novel ''Lolita,'' which portrays the narrator Humbert's sexual obsession with and victimization of a 12-year-old g ...

roles, working with such directors as

Gérard Blain Gérard Blain (23 October 1930 – 17 December 2000) was a French actor and film director. Biography Blain appeared in sixty films between 1944 and 2000. He also directed nine films between 1971 and 2000. In 1971, he won the Golden Leopard ...

Jacques Doniol-Valcroze Jacques Doniol-Valcroze (; 15 March 1920 – 6 October 1989) was a French actor, critic, screenwriter, and director. In 1951, Doniol-Valcroze was a co-founder of the renowned film magazine ''Cahiers du cinéma'', along with André Bazin and Jo ...

, and

Alain Robbe-Grillet Alain Robbe-Grillet (; 18 August 1922 – 18 February 2008) was a French writer and filmmaker. He was one of the figures most associated with the '' Nouveau Roman'' (new novel) trend of the 1960s, along with Nathalie Sarraute, Michel Butor and C ...

, Alvina's highest career profile probably being afforded by the Robbe-Grillet films '' Glissements progressifs du plaisir'' (1974) and '' Le Jeu avec le feu'' ( fr) (1975).

Later career and death

Alvina starred in the TF1 mini-series '' Les 400 coups de Virginie'' ( fr), which ran for six episodes from December 1979 to February 1980. Her only cinematic film credit for the 1980s was the 1981 film '' Rêve après rêve'', a film directed and written by fashion designer

Kenzo Takada is a common masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Kenzō can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *賢三, "wise, three" *健三, "healthy, three" *謙三, "humble, three" *健想, "healthy, concept" *建造, "bu ...

, although Alvina did play the title role in the 1983 made-for-television film version of '' Diane Lanster'' ( fr) directed by Bernard Queysanne ( fr). Also in the early 1980s, Alvina attempted a singing career, with a solo single released in 1982. Then she joined the group Ici Paris, who had several singles released in 1980–83 and also a 1982 album, to replace Marie Alcaraz as lead singer and frontwoman. Around the time of her 1984 marriage, Alvina evidently retired from the entertainment world and did not re-emerge till 1995, when she resumed her acting career with the first of a series of occasional screen appearances. Alvina died of lung cancer on 11 November 2006, at Boncourt, Eure-et-Loir, aged 53.

Partial filmography

* '' Elle boit pas, elle fume pas, elle drague pas, mais... elle cause !'' ( fr) (''She Does Not Drink, Smoke, or Flirt, But... She Talks!'', 1970) * ''

'' (1971) * '' Le Rempart des béguines'' (1972) * '' Les Grands sentiments font les bons gueuletons'' (''Big Sentiments Make for Good Sports'', 1973) * ''

Successive Slidings of Pleasure ''Successive Slidings of Pleasure'' (french: Glissements progressifs du plaisir) is a 1974 French art film directed by Alain Robbe-Grillet. Plot The film delves into the surreal and demented psyche of a young woman following the murder of her pa ...

'' (1974) * ''

'' (1974) * ''Isabelle and Lust'' (1975) * '' Playing with Fire'' (1975) * ''L'affiche rouge'' (1976) * '' Une femme fatale'' (''Femme Fatale'', 1976) * ''Le trouble-fesses'' (1976) * ''L'arriviste'' (1976) * ''

Anima persa ''The Forbidden Room'' ( it, Anima persa) is a 1977 thriller film directed by Dino Risi. It is based on the novel '' Un'anima persa'' by Giovanni Arpino. The film was co-production between Italy and France by Dean Film and Les Productions Fox Eur ...

'' (1977) * '' One, Two, Two : 122, rue de Provence'' (1978) * ''El terrorista'' (1978) * '' Second Wind'' (1978) * ''La barricade du Point du Jour'' (1978) * '' L'Honorable société'' (1978) * '' Diane Lanster'' (1983, TV movie) * ''

Jusqu'au bout de la nuit ''Jusqu'au bout de la nuit'' ("until the end of the night") is a 1995 French drama film directed by Gérard Blain, starring Blain and Anicée Alvina. It tells the story of a man in his sixties who is released after a long prison sentence, and trie ...

'' (1995) * '' Ainsi soit-il'' (2000) * ''Charell'' (2008)

Discography

* "Image À Définir"/ "Tu Fais Mal Et Ça Te Plait" (single) by Anicée Alvina (1982) * "Maman Je N' Veux Plus Aller À L'École"/ "La Ver Interplanétaire" (1983) (single) by Ici Paris

References

External links

*
Le coin du cinéphage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvina, Anicee 1953 births 2006 deaths Deaths from lung cancer in France French people of Iranian descent French film actresses French television actresses People from Boulogne-Billancourt 20th-century French actresses 20th-century French women singers