Marie-Pierre Yvonne Tricot (5 February 1949 – 10 February 2013), known professionally as Marie-Pierre Castel, or Pony Tricot, was a French actress. She became notable for her collaboration with

Jean Rollin Jean Michel Rollin Roth Le Gentil (3 November 193815 December 2010) was a French film director, actor, and novelist best known for his work in the fantastique genre. Overview Rollins' career, spanning over fifty years, featured early short film ...

, appearing in a number of his films, including, ''

La vampire nue ''La Vampire Nue'' (English: ''The Nude Vampire'', ''The Naked Vampire'') is a 1970 film directed by Jean Rollin. It concerns a suicide cult led by a mysterious man known as "The Master". Plot In a strange laboratory, three men in weird masks ta ...

'' (1970), '' Le frisson des vampires'' (1970), '' Requiem pour un vampire'' (1971), and '' Lèvres de sang'' (1975).

Career

Castel started her career working in the beauty industry, as a barber, before deciding on acting as a career choice. She made her screen debut in 1970, when she was cast in

's ''

'', appearing alongside her twin sister,

Catherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

, in the first of several roles which she would appear with her sister. The sisters were credited under their own surname of Tricot for their debut roles, but were subsequently known under the pseudonym name of 'Castel', a surname of their relatives. This was followed by more collaborations with Rollin, including '' Le frisson des vampires'', and, in her first leading role, '' Requiem pour un Vampire'', which is perhaps her most notable performance. Both films were intended to feature Catherine, but when she fell pregnant, Rollin decided on Marie-Pierre as a casting decision. Castel would continue to appear in a number of Rollin's films, such as, the comedy, ''Tout le monde il en a deux'', and one of his most successful works, '' Lèvres de sang'', which starred Jean-Loup Philippe and Annie Belle. Castel accepted work in several of Rollin's pornographic films, when the director was facing financial difficulty at the time while trying to make up the budget for his intended projects, turning to the adult film industry as a viable option; featuring in ''Phantasmes'', ''Douces pénétrations'', ''Introductions'' and in her final collaboration with Rollin, ''Suce moi vampire'', which was an extended pornographic version of ''Lèvres de sang'', with the hardcore scenes shot and inserted into the film in 1976. She has also worked with directors, Jean-Marie Pallardy and

Bernard Launois Bernard Launois (, born 8 April 1930) is a French exploitation film director, screenwriter and actor. As an actor, he sometimes used the pseudonym Bob Gary. He was born in Mézières, France. After studying pharmacology for two years in the uni ...

. Her final acting appearance was in the 1977

Francis Girod Francis Girod (9 October 1944 – 19 November 2006) was a French film director, actor, and screenwriter. He directed 20 films between 1974 and 2006. His film ''L'enfance de l'art'' was entered into the 1988 Cannes Film Festival. In 1994 he w ...

film, '' René la canne'', starring

Gérard Depardieu Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu, CQ (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor, filmmaker, businessman and vineyard owner since 1989 who is one of the most prolific thespians in film history having completed over 250 films since 1967 al ...

Sylvia Kristel Sylvia Maria Kristel (28 September 1952 17 October 2012) was a Dutch actress and model who appeared in over 50 films. She is best remembered as the eponymous character in five of the seven Emmanuelle films, including originating the role with ''E ...

and

Michel Piccoli Jacques Daniel Michel Piccoli (27 December 1925 – 12 May 2020) was a French actor, producer and film director with a career spanning 70 years. He was lauded as one of the greatest French character actors of his generation who played a wide vari ...

Death

Castel died on 10 February 2013 in Nîmes,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, five days after her 64th birthday. The cause of her death was not specified.

Filmography

Notes

References

External links

*
Article/interview with Marie-Pierre Castel
from around 1971-1973 in a French magazine {{DEFAULTSORT:Castel, Marie-Pierre 1949 births 2013 deaths People from Villejuif Twin actresses French film actresses French twins 20th-century French actresses French pornographic film actresses