Anne Wiazemsky (14 May 1947 – 5 October 2017) was a French actress and novelist. She made her cinema debut at the age of 18, playing Marie, the lead character in

Robert Bresson Robert Bresson (; 25 September 1901 – 18 December 1999) was a French film director. Known for his ascetic approach, Bresson contributed notably to the art of cinema; his non-professional actors, ellipses, and sparse use of scoring have l ...

's ''

Au Hasard Balthazar ''Au Hasard Balthazar'' (; meaning "Balthazar, at Random"), also known as ''Balthazar'', is a 1966 French drama film directed by Robert Bresson. Believed to be inspired by a passage from Fyodor Dostoyevsky's 1868–69 novel ''The Idiot'', the film ...

'' (1966), and went on to appear in several of Jean-Luc Godard's films, among them ''

La Chinoise ''La Chinoise, ou plutôt à la Chinoise: un film en train de se faire'' (English: ''The Chinese, or, rather, in the Chinese manner: a film in the making''), commonly referred to simply as ''La Chinoise'', is a 1967 French political film directed b ...

'' (1967), '' Week End'' (1967), and '' One Plus One'' (1968). Through her mother, she was the granddaughter of novelist and dramatist

François Mauriac François Charles Mauriac (, oc, Francés Carles Mauriac; 11 October 1885 – 1 September 1970) was a French novelist, dramatist, critic, poet, and journalist, a member of the'' Académie française'' (from 1933), and laureate of the Nobel Prize ...

Early life

Wiazemsky was born on 14 May 1947 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, Germany. Her father Yvan Wiazemsky, a French diplomat, was a Russian prince who had emigrated to France following the Russian Revolution. Her mother Claire Mauriac was the daughter of

, a winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Wiazemsky spent her early years abroad following her father's postings around the world, including

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

and Caracas before returning to Paris in 1962. She graduated from the high school Ecole Sainte Marie de Passy in Paris.

Career

Acting

Wiazemsky made her on screen acting debut at the age of 18, playing Marie, the lead character in

's ''

'' (1966) after being introduced to the director by actress Florence Delay. The film premièred at the 1966

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

where it won the OCIC ( International Catholic Organization for Cinema) Award, the San Giorgio Prize, and the New Cinema Award. It has since been listed by critics as one of the

greatest films of all time This is a list of films considered the best in national and international surveys of critics and the public. Some surveys focus on all films, while others focus on a particular genre or country. Voting systems differ, and some surveys suffer ...

. Filmmaker and '' Cahiers du Cinéma'' critic Jean-Luc Godard wrote a glowing review for the film, writing that "everyone who sees this film will be absolutely astonished ..because this film is really the world in an hour and a half." Wiazemsky subsequently developed a relationship with Godard, and married him one year later, in 1967. She starred in several of his films, including ''

'' (1967), '' Week End'' (1967), and '' One Plus One'' (1968). In the 1980s, she began to turn to work behind the camera. In 1994, she co-wrote the script ''Go Home'', which starred

Claire Denis Claire Denis (; born 21 April 1946) is a French film director and screenwriter. Her feature film ''Beau Travail'' (1999) has been called one of the greatest films of the 1990s, as well as of all time. Other acclaimed works include '' Trouble Ev ...

in 1960s France. She began to direct television documentaries.

Writing

In addition to acting, Wiazemsky wrote several novels, including ''Canines'' (1993), ''Une Poignée de Gens'' (1998), and ''Aux Quatre Coins du Monde'' (2001). ''Hymnes à l'Amour'' was filmed in 2003 as ''Toutes ces belles promesses'' (''

All the Fine Promises All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All al ...

''), directed by

Jean-Paul Civeyrac Jean-Paul Civeyrac (born 24 December 1964) is a French director whose films are usually characterized by close attention to music and actors' bodies. He has adapted a French novel by Anne Wiazemsky, ''Hymnes à l'amour'', with the title '' All the ...

and starring

Valérie Crunchant Valérie Crunchant (born 1978) is a French actress. She was born in Évry, Essonne, a suburb of Paris. Valérie Crunchant appears in '' All the fine promises'' (2003), directed and written by Jean-Paul Civeyrac (based on Anne Wiazemsky's nov ...

and

Bulle Ogier Bulle Ogier (born Marie-France Thielland; 9 August 1939) is a French actress and screenwriter. She adopted the professional surname Ogier, which was her mother's maiden name. Her first appearance on screen was in ''Voilà l'Ordre'', a short film ...

. Her novel ''Jeune Fille'' (2007) was based on her experience of starring in ''

''. In 2015, she wrote the novel ''Un An Après'' (“One Year After”), which chronicled her time shooting Godard's film ''La Chinoise'' to when their relationship soured''.'' It was developed into a feature film, '' Le Redoubtable'', by '' The Artist'' director

Michel Hazanavicius Michel Hazanavicius ( lt, Hazanavičius; born 29 March 1967) is a French film director, screenwriter, editor, and producer. He is best known for his 2011 film, '' The Artist'', which won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 84th Academy Aw ...

and Wiazemsky was played by

Stacy Martin Stacy Martin (born 20 March 1990) is a French actress. Her breakthrough role was playing Joe as a young woman in Lars von Trier's 2013 drama film ''Nymphomaniac''. Early life Martin was born in Paris, where she spent her early childhood. She m ...

Personal life

During the 1966 filming of ''

'', director

proposed to her several times, though she refused. In 1967, she married Jean-Luc Godard, and subsequently starred in several of his films; the marriage officially ended in divorce in 1979, though the couple had separated as early as 1970. In 1971, Wiazemsky signed the

Manifesto of the 343 The Manifesto of the 343 (), was a French petition signed by 343 women "who had the courage to say, 'I've had an abortion. It was an act of civil disobedience, since abortion was illegal in France, and by admitting publicly to having aborted, they ...

, which publicly declared she had an

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

as a way to advocate for

reproductive rights Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to reproduction and reproductive health that vary amongst countries around the world. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights as follows: Reproductive rights rest o ...

, even though the procedure was illegal in France at the time.

Death

Wiazemsky died of

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

on 5 October 2017, aged 70.

Filmography

Actress (partial listing)

Bibliography

;Novels * 1989: ''Mon beau navire'', Gallimard, Paris * 1991: ''Marimé'', Gallimard, Paris * 1993: ''Canines'', Gallimard, Paris * 1998: ''Une poignée de gens'' (1998

Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française Le Grand Prix du Roman is a French literary award, created in 1914, and given each year by the Académie française. Along with the Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French litera ...

), Gallimard, Paris, * 2001: ''Aux quatre coins du monde'', Gallimard, Paris * 2002: ''Sept garçons'', Gallimard, Paris * 2004: ''Je m'appelle Elizabeth'' ('' Je m'appelle Élisabeth''), Gallimard, Paris * 2007: ''Jeune Fille'', Gallimard, Paris, * 2009: ''Mon enfant de Berlin'', Gallimard, Paris * 2012: ''Une année studieuse'', Gallimard, Paris * 2015: ''Un an après'', Gallimard, Paris, ;Short stories * 1988: ''Des filles bien élevées'', Gallimard, Paris ;Juvenile * 2003: ''Les Visiteurs du soir'' (illustrations by Stanislas Bouvier) ;Memoirs * 1996: ''Hymnes à l'amour'' (1996 Prix Maurice Genevoix), Gallimard, Paris * 2017: ''Un saint homme'', Gallimard, Paris, ;Biography * 1992: ''Album de famille'' * 2000: ''Il était une fois... les cafés'' (photographs by Roger-Viollet) * 2000: ''Tableaux de chats'' * 2001: ''Venise'' (photographs by Jean Noël de Soye) ;Preface * 1994: ''En habillant''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wiazemsky, Anne 1947 births 2017 deaths Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery French film actresses French women novelists French film directors French women screenwriters French screenwriters French people of Russian descent Prix Maurice Genevoix winners Prix Jean Freustié winners Prix Goncourt des lycéens winners Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française winners Actresses from Berlin Writers from Berlin 20th-century French actresses 20th-century French novelists 21st-century French novelists Film directors from Berlin 20th-century French women writers 21st-century French women writers Deaths from cancer in France Prix Renaudot des lycéens winners Signatories of the 1971 Manifesto of the 343