Marie Laure Viole Bellon, generally known as Loleh Bellon, (1925–1999) was a French stage and film actress as well as a playwright. In 1949, for her role in Robert Desnos' ''La Place de l'Étoile'', she was awarded the ''Prix des Jeunes comédiens''. She is remembered for her performances in Giraudoux' ''Judith'' and in Claudel's ''L'Annonce faite à Marie''. Bellon was also a successful playwright, especially with ''Dames du jeudi'' (1976), ''Une absence'' (1988) and ''La Chambre d'amis'' (1995). For her play ''L'Éloignement'' (1987), she was awarded the Molière prize.

Early life and family

Born on 14 May 1925 in Bayonne, Marie Laure Viole Bellon was the daughter of Jacques Bellon, a magistrate, and Denise Simone Hulmann, a well-known photographer. In 1947, she married the Spanish writer Jorge Semprún Maura (1923–2011), with whom she gave birth to

Jaime Semprún Jaime Semprún (26 July 1947 – 3 August 2010) was a French essayist and translator. He was born and died in Paris. Biography The son of Jorge Semprún and nephew of the writer Carlos Semprún, Jaime Semprún was close to the film director Phili ...

(1947–2010), also a writer. Following a divorce in 1960, she married the poet Claude Roy (1915–1997) in 1962. Loleh Bellon was the younger sister of the film director and screenwriter Yannick Bellon.

Professional life

Bellon studied for the theatre under the Russian-born actress and drama teacher Tania Balachova, the actor and theatre manager Charles Dullin, and the actor Julien Bertheau. After making her stage début in 1945 in

J. B. Priestley John Boynton Priestley (; 13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984) was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator. His Yorkshire background is reflected in much of his fiction, notably in ''The Good Compa ...

's ''

Dangerous Corner ''Dangerous Corner'' was the first play by the English writer J. B. Priestley. It was premiered in May 1932 by Tyrone Guthrie at the Lyric Theatre, London, and filmed in 1934 by Phil Rosen. Priestley had recently collaborated with Edward Kno ...

'', in 1947, she played in ''L'An Mil'' by Jules Romains. In 1949, for her performance in ''La Place de l'Étoile'', she was awarded the ''Prix des Jeunes comédiens''. She embarked on her cinema career in the late 1940s, working with Jean-Louis Barrault and Jean Vilar. Her first major success was the role of Marie in '' Le Point du jour'' (1949) directed by Louis Daquin. She appeared in two more of Daquin's films, ''

The Perfume of the Lady in Black ''The Perfume of the Lady in Black'' ( it, Il profumo della signora in nero) is a 1974 giallo-horror film directed by Francesco Barilli. The film had nothing to do with the similarly-titled novel by Gaston Leroux. Plot Silvia ( Mimsy Farmer) is ...

'' (1949) and '' Maître après Dieu'' (1950). Thanks to her sister Yannick Bellon, in the 1970s she starred in ''Quelque part quelqu’un'' (1972) and ''Jamais plus toujours'' (1976). As a playwright, in 1976 her ''Les Dames du Jeudi'' was awarded the Ibsen prize. Other successes included ''L'èloignement'' (1987), ''Une absence'' (1988) and ''La Chambre d'amis'' (1995). Loleh Bellon died on 22 May 1999 in Le Kremlin-Bicêtre in the Paris suburbs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellon, Loleh 1925 births 1999 deaths French actresses French dramatists and playwrights French women writers People from Bayonne 20th-century French women Semprún family Signatories of the 1971 Manifesto of the 343