Nicole Françoise Florence Dreyfus (born 27 April 1932), known professionally as Anouk Aimée () or Anouk, is a French film actress, who has appeared in 70 films since 1947, having begun her film career at age 14. In her early years, she studied acting and dance besides her regular education. Although the majority of her films were French, she also made films in Spain, Great Britain, Italy and Germany, along with some American productions. Among her films are Federico Fellini's '' La Dolce Vita'' (1960), after which she was considered a "rising star who exploded" onto the film world. She subsequently acted in Fellini's ''

8½ ' (Italian title: , ) is a 1963 surrealist comedy-drama film directed and co-written (with Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano and Brunello Rondi) by Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini. The metafictional narrative centers on Guido Anselmi, played by M ...

'' (1963), Jacques Demy's ''

Lola Lola may refer to: Places * Lolá, a or subdistrict of Panama * Lola Township, Cherokee County, Kansas, United States * Lola Prefecture, Guinea * Lola, Guinea, a town in Lola Prefecture * Lola Island, in the Solomon Islands People * Lola ...

'' (1961),

George Cukor George Dewey Cukor (; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO when David O. Selznick, the studio's Head ...

's '' Justine'' (1969),

Bernardo Bertolucci Bernardo Bertolucci (; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in Italian cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved international ...

's ''

Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man ''Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man'' ( it, La tragedia di un uomo ridicolo) is a 1981 Italian film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. It stars Anouk Aimée and Ugo Tognazzi, who was awarded the Best Male Actor Award at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival for ...

'' (1981) and Robert Altman's '' Prêt à Porter'' (1994). She won the

Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset * Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestersh ...

and the BAFTA Award for Best Actress and was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year ...

for her acting in '' A Man and a Woman'' (1966). The film "virtually reignited the lush on-screen romance in an era of skeptical modernism," and brought her international fame. She won the Award for Best Actress at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

for

Marco Bellocchio Marco Bellocchio (; born 9 November 1939) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Life and career Born in Bobbio, near Piacenza, Marco Bellocchio had a strict Catholic upbringing – his father was a lawyer, his mother a schoolt ...

's film ''

A Leap in the Dark ''A Leap in the Dark'' ( it, Salto nel vuoto, and also known as ''Leap Into the Void'') is a 1980 Italian film written and directed by Marco Bellocchio. It stars Michel Piccoli and Anouk Aimée, who won the Best Actor and Best Actress prizes resp ...

'' (1980). In 2002 she received an honorary César Award, France's national film award. Aimée was known for her "striking features" and beauty, and considered "one of the hundred sexiest stars in film history," according to a 1995 poll conducted by ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'' magazine. She has often portrayed a femme fatale with a melancholy aura. In the 1960s, ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'' magazine commented: "after each picture her enigmatic beauty lingered" in the memories of her audience, and called her "the

Left Bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography, as follows. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terra ...

's most beautiful resident."

Early years

Aimée was born in Paris to actor Henri Murray (born Henry Dreyfus; 30 January 1907 – 29 January 1984)Flitterman-Lewis, Sandy
"Anouk Aimée"
''Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia'' and actress Geneviève Sorya (née Durand; 23 June 1912 – 23 March 2008). According to one historian, although some have speculated that her background may be related to

Captain Alfred Dreyfus Alfred Dreyfus ( , also , ; 9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French artillery officer of Jewish ancestry whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most polarizing political dramas in modern French history. ...

, this has never been confirmed. Her father was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, whereas her mother was Catholic. She was raised Catholic but later converted to Judaism as an adult. Her early education took place at l'École de la rue Milton, in Paris; École de Barbezieux; Pensionnat de Bandol; and Institution de Megève. She studied dance at Marseille Opera. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

she was a pupil at Mayfield School, Mayfield in Sussex, but left before taking final exams. She studied theatre in England, after which she studied dramatic art and dance with Andrée Bauer-Thérond.Unterburger, Amy L. (ed.) ''Actors and Actresses'', ''International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers'' (3rd edition), St James Press (1997), pp. 9–11

Career

Aimée (then still Françoise Dreyfus) made her film debut, at the age of fourteen, in the role of Anouk in ''La Maison sous la mer'' (1946), and she kept the name afterwards.

Jacques Prévert Jacques Prévert (; 4 February 1900 – 11 April 1977) was a French poet and screenwriter. His poems became and remain popular in the French-speaking world, particularly in schools. His best-regarded films formed part of the poetic realist moveme ...

, while writing '' Les amants de Vérone'' (''The Lovers of Verona'', 1949) specifically for her, suggested she take the symbolic last name Aimée, "that would forever associate her with the affective power of her screen roles." In French, it means "beloved."Durham, Michael. "Aimée—It Means 'To Be Loved'", ''Life Magazine'', 19 May 1967 pp. 85–86. Among her films were

Alexandre Astruc Alexandre Astruc (; 13 July 1923 – 19 May 2016) was a French film critic and film director. Biography Before becoming a film director he was a journalist, novelist and film critic. His contribution to the auteur theory centers on his notion ...

's '' The Crimson Curtain'' (''Le Rideau Cramoisi'', 1953), Federico Fellini's '' La Dolce Vita'' (1960), Fellini's ''

'' (1963), Jacques Demy's ''

'' (1961),

André Delvaux André Albert Auguste Delvaux (; 21 March 1926 – 4 October 2002) was a Belgian film director. He co-founded the film school INSAS in 1962 and is regarded as the founder of the Belgian national cinema. Adapting works by writers such as Joha ...

's '' One Night... A Train'' (''Un Soir, un Train'', 1968),

's '' Justine'' (1969),

's ''

'' (1981), Robert Altman's '' Prêt à Porter'' (''Ready to Wear'', 1994) and,

Claude Lelouch Claude Barruck Joseph Lelouch (; born 30 October 1937) is a French film director, writer, cinematographer, actor and producer. Lelouch grew up in an Algerian Jewish Family. He emerged as a prominent director in the 1960s. Lelouch gained criti ...

's '' A Man and a Woman'' (''Un Homme et une femme'', 1966) — described as a "film that virtually reignited the lush on-screen romance in an era of skeptical modernism." Words like "regal," "intelligent" and "enigmatic" are frequently associated with her, notes one author, giving Aimée "an aura of disturbing and mysterious beauty" that has earned her the status of "one of the hundred sexiest stars in film history," according to a 1995 poll conducted by '' Empire Magazine''. Because of her "striking features" and her beauty, she has been compared to Jacqueline Kennedy. Film historian Ginette Vincendeau has commented that Aimée's films "established her as an ethereal, sensitive and fragile beauty with a tendency to tragic destinies or restrained suffering." Her abilities as an actress and the photogenic qualities of her face, its "fine lines, expression of elation and a suggestive gaze," helped her achieve success in her early films.

Émile Savitry Émile Savitry (1903–1967) was a French photographer and painter. Early life Born in Saigon, in 1903, into the wealthy colonial industrialist family of Felix Marius Alphonse Dupont and Cecile Leonie Audra, Émile renamed himself Savitry to go a ...

made an early portrait of her at 15, holding a kitten on the set of Carné's ''La Fleur de l'âge'' (1947). Among others of her films of this period were '' Pot-Bouille'' (1957), '' Les Amants de Montparnasse (Montparnasse 19)'' (The Lovers of Montparnasse, (1958) and '' La tête contre les murs'' (''Head Against the Wall'', 1958). Besides the French cinema, Aimée's career includes films made in Spain, Great Britain, Italy and Germany. She achieved worldwide attention in Fellini's '' La Dolce Vita'' (1960) and ''Lola'' (1961). She appeared again in Fellini's ', and would remain in Italy during the first half of the 1960s, making films for a number of Italian directors. Because of her role in ''La Dolce Vita'', biographer Dave Thompson describes Aimée as a "rising star who exploded" onto the film world. He adds that singer-songwriter

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...

, who in her teens saw the film, began to idolise her, and "dreamed of being an actress like Aimée."Thompson, Dave. ''Dancing Barefoot: The Patti Smith Story'', Chicago Review Press (2011) p. 17 Aimée's greatest success came with the film '' A Man and a Woman'' (''Un homme et une femme'', 1966) directed by

. Primarily due to the excellent acting by its stars, Aimée and

Jean-Louis Trintignant Jean-Louis Xavier Trintignant (; 11 December 1930 – 17 June 2022) was a French actor. He made his theatrical debut in 1951, and went on to be regarded as one of the best French dramatic actors of the post-war era. He starred in many classic fi ...

and the beautiful musical score, the film became an international success, winning both the Grand Prize at the

in 1966 and two Oscars including Best Foreign Language Film. Tabery states that with her "subtle portrayal of the heroine—self-protective, then succumbing to a new love—Aimée seemed to create a new kind of femme fatale." Film historian Jurgen Muller adds, "whether one like the film or not, it's still hard for anyone to resist the melancholy aura of Anouk Aimée." In many of her subsequent films, she would continue to play that type of role, "a woman of sensitivity whose emotions are often kept secret." She starred in the American film production of ''Justine'' (1969), costarring Dirk Bogarde and directed by

and Joseph Strick. The film contained some nudity, with one writer observing, "Anouk is always impeccable, oozing the sexy, detached air of the elite . . . when she drops these trappings, along with her couture clothing, Anouk's naked perfection will annihilate you." While Aimee garnered some positive reviews, the film itself was a critical and box-office disaster. Photojournalist Eve Arnold, assigned to photograph and write a story about Aimée and her role, spoke to Dirk Bogarde, who had known her since she was fifteen. He said that "She is never so happy as when she is miserable between love affairs," referencing her recent love affair with Omar Sharif. Arnold photographed Aimée, who talked about her role as the character Justine. Justine was also Jewish. Arnold recalls one of their talks: Another American film, ''La Brava'', starring

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is ...

, was set to be made in 1984 but was never completed. Hoffman at first decided it would play better if he were in love with a younger girl rather than the original story's older woman. "Where are you going to get a good-looking older woman?" he asked. He rejected

Faye Dunaway Dorothy Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941) is an American actress. She is the recipient of many accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and a BAFTA Award. In 2011, the government of France mad ...

, feeling she was "too obvious." A month later, after a chance meeting with Aimée in Paris, he changed his mind, telling his producer, "I can fall in love with the older woman. I met Anouk Aimée over the weekend. She looks great." He begged his producer to at least talk to her: "Come on, get on the phone, say hello to her. . . Just listen to her voice, it's great." Robert Altman, at another time, wanted to use Aimée in a film to be called ''Lake Lugano,'' about a woman who was a

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

survivor returning long after the war. She "loved the script," according to Altman. However, she backed out after discussing the part with him more thoroughly: In 2002, she received an honorary César Award, France's national film award, and in 2003 received an

Honorary Golden Bear The Honorary Golden Bear (german: Goldener Ehrenbar) is the Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international fil ...

at the Berlin International Film Festival.Oscherwitz, Dayna. ''The A to Z of French Cinema'', Scarecrow Press (2007), pg. 18 In the 1960s, ''

'' magazine called her "the

's most beautiful resident ... after each picture her enigmatic beauty lingered" in the memories of her audience. In late 2013, the Cinemania film festival in Montreal, Canada, paid tribute to Aimée's career. Aimée reunited with director

and co-star

for a follow-up to ''Un homme et une femme'' and its sequel, '' A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later'' (''Un homme et une femme, 20 ans deja'', 1986). The result, '' The Best Years of a Life'' (''Les plus belles années d'une vie'', 2019), was shown at Cannes out of competition.

Personal life

Aimée has been married and divorced four times: Edouard Zimmermann (1949–1950), director Nico Papatakis (1951–1954), actor and musical producer

Pierre Barouh Pierre Barouh (born Élie Pierre Barouh; 19 February 1934 – 28 December 2016) was a French writer-composer-singer best known for his work on Claude Lelouch's film ''A Man and a Woman'' as an actor and the lyricist/singer for Francis Lai's music ...

(1966–1969) and actor Albert Finney (1970–1978). She has one child, Manuela Papatakis (born 1951), from her second marriage.

Selected filmography

References

External links

* * *
AIMÉE Anouk
International Who's Who. Retrieved 1 September 2006. * Sandy Flitterman-Lewis
Anouk Aimée
Jewish Women Encyclopedia
Photographs and literature
* video Featured in film, The Golden Salamander, with Trevor Howard, Herbert Lom and Anouk Aimee. {{DEFAULTSORT:Aimee, Anouk 1932 births Living people Actresses from Paris Best Foreign Actress BAFTA Award winners Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress winners César Honorary Award recipients Honorary Golden Bear recipients French film actresses French people of Jewish descent Converts to Judaism from Roman Catholicism Jewish French actresses People educated at St Leonards-Mayfield School 20th-century French actresses 21st-century French actresses