Michèle Morgan (; née Simone Renée Roussel; 29 February 1920 – 20 December 2016) was a French film actress, who was a leading lady for three decades in both French cinema and Hollywood features. She is considered to have been one of the great French actresses of the 20th century.
Morgan was the inaugural winner of the
Best Actress Award 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 ...
. In 1992, she was given an honorary
César Award Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol
* ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt
* César Award, a French film award
Places
* Cesar, Portugal
* C ...
for her contributions to French cinema.
Early life
Morgan was born Simone Renée Roussel in
Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine (; literally 'Neuilly on Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is a commune in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in France, just west of Paris. Immediately adjacent to the city, the area is composed of mostly select residentia ...
,
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 ...
, a wealthy suburb of Paris.
She grew up in
Dieppe
Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France.
Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newha ...
,
Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inféri ...
, France.
Career
Morgan left home at the age of 15 for Paris determined to become an actress.
She took acting lessons from
René Simon
René Simon (1898 in Troyes – 1971) was a French actor and founder in 1925 of the Cours Simon drama school in Paris. Notable alumni of Cours Simon include Benoît Petitjean and Jean Reno
Jean Reno () (born 30 July 1948), is a French acto ...
while serving as an extra in several films to pay for her drama classes.
It was then that she took the stage name "Michèle Morgan".
She argued that she did not have the body type of a Simone, and "Morgan" sounded more Hollywood-friendly.
Morgan was first noticed by director
Marc Allégret
Marc Allégret (22 December 1900 – 3 November 1973) was a French screenwriter, photographer and film director.
Biography
Born in Basel, Basel-Stadt, Switzerland, he was the elder brother of Yves Allégret. Marc was educated to be a lawyer in ...
, who offered her a major role in the film ''
Gribouille
Marie-France Gaîté (born 17 July 1941 in Lyon, France – died 18 January 1968), better known as Gribouille was a singer, musician, and songwriter.
__NOTOC__
As a teenager, she suffered from a mental disorder, and for a time was confined aga ...
'' (1937), opposite
Raimu
Jules Auguste Muraire (18 December 1883 – 20 September 1946), whose stage name was Raimu, was a French actor. He is most famous for playing César in the 'Marseilles trilogy' ('' Marius'', '' Fanny'' and '' César'').
Life and career
Born in T ...
.
Then came ''
Le Quai des brumes
''Port of Shadows'' (french: Le Quai des brumes , "The dock of mists") is a 1938 French film directed by Marcel Carné. An example of poetic realism, it stars Jean Gabin, Michel Simon and Michèle Morgan. The screenplay was written by Jacques Pr ...
'' (1938) directed by
Marcel Carné (1938), opposite
Jean Gabin
Jean Gabin (; 17 May 190415 November 1976) was a French actor and singer. Considered a key figure in French cinema, he starred in several classic films including ''Pépé le Moko'' (1937), ''La grande illusion'' (1937), ''Le Quai des brumes'' ( ...
, and ''
Remorques
''Remorques'' (English title: ''Stormy Waters'') is a 1941 French drama film directed by Jean Grémillon. The screenplay was written by Jacques Prévert (scenario and dialogue) and André Cayatte (adaptation), based on the novel by Roger Vercel. ...
'' (1941) directed by
Jean Grémillon
Jean Grémillon (; 3 October 1901 – 25 November 1959)Note that, despite attempts at correction, thIMDb entry on the directorlists his date of birth erroneously as 4 March 1898. The correct date is given in his standard biography, by Geneviève S ...
.
![Michele Morgan in The Vintage 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Michele_Morgan_in_The_Vintage_2.jpg)
Upon the
invasion of France
France has been invaded on numerous occasions, by foreign powers or rival French governments; there have also been unimplemented invasion plans.
* the 1746 War of the Austrian Succession, Austria-Italian forces supported by the British navy attemp ...
in 1940 by the Germans, Morgan left for the United States and Hollywood where she was contracted to
RKO Pictures
RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...
in 1941.
Her career there proved rather disappointing, apart from ''
Joan of Paris
''Joan of Paris'' is a 1942 war film about five Royal Air Force pilots shot down over Nazi-occupied France during World War II and their attempt to escape to England. It stars Michèle Morgan and Paul Henreid, with Thomas Mitchell, Laird Creg ...
'' (1942) opposite
Paul Henreid
Paul Henreid (November 10, 1908 – March 29, 1992) was an Austrian-British- American actor, director, producer, and writer. He is best remembered for two film roles; Victor Laszlo in '' Casablanca'' and Jerry Durrance in ''Now, Voyager'', ...
, and ''
Higher and Higher'' (1943) opposite
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
.
She was tested and strongly considered for the female lead in ''
Casablanca
Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
'' but
RKO
RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...
would not release her for the amount of money that
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
offered. Morgan did work for Warners, however, in ''
Passage to Marseille
''Passage to Marseille'', also known as ''Message to Marseille'', is a 1944 American war film made by Warner Brothers, directed by Michael Curtiz. The screenplay was by Casey Robinson and Jack Moffitt from the novel ''Sans Patrie'' (''Men Withou ...
'' (1944) with
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...
.
![Michèle Morgan Césars](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Mich%C3%A8le_Morgan_C%C3%A9sars.jpg)
After the war, Morgan returned to France and quickly resumed her career with the film ''
La Symphonie Pastorale
''Pastoral Symphony'' (French: ''La Symphonie pastorale'') is a 1946 French drama film directed by Jean Delannoy and starring Michèle Morgan, Pierre Blanchar and Jean Desailly.Crisp p.122
The film is based on the novella '' La Symphonie Past ...
'' (1946) directed by
Jean Delannoy
Jean Delannoy (12 January 1908 – 18 June 2008) was a French actor, film editor, screenwriter and film director.
Biography
Although Delannoy was born in a Paris suburb, his family was from Haute-Normandie in the north of France. He was a P ...
, which earned her the
Best Actress award 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 ...
.
Her other films from this period include;
Carol Reed
Sir Carol Reed (30 December 1906 – 25 April 1976) was an English film director and producer, best known for ''Odd Man Out'' (1947), '' The Fallen Idol'' (1948), ''The Third Man'' (1949), and '' Oliver!'' (1968), for which he was awarded the ...
's ''
The Fallen Idol'' (1948), ''
Fabiola'' (1949), ''
The Proud and the Beautiful
''The Proud and the Beautiful'' (french: Les Orgueilleux, sub-title: ''Alvarado'', aka ''The Proud Ones'') is a 1953 drama film directed by Yves Allégret. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Story (the nomination officially went to J ...
'' (1953) by Yves Allégret, ''
Les Grandes Manœuvres
''The Grand Maneuver'' (french: Les Grandes Manœuvres) is a 1955 French drama film written and directed by René Clair, and starring Michèle Morgan and Gérard Philipe. It was released in the United Kingdom and Ireland as ''Summer Manoeuvres' ...
'' (1955) by
René Clair
René Clair (11 November 1898 – 15 March 1981), born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker and writer. He first established his reputation in the 1920s as a director of silent films in which comedy was often mingled with fantasy. He wen ...
and ''
Marie-Antoinette reine de France
''Marie Antoinette Queen of France'' (french: Marie-Antoinette reine de France and also known as ''Shadow of the Guillotine'') is a 1956 French-Italian historical drama film directed by Jean Delannoy who co-wrote the screenplay with Pierre Erlan ...
'' (1956).
She continued working in films throughout the 1960s, such as in ''
Lost Command
''Lost Command'' (aka ''Les Centurions'') is a 1966 American war film directed and produced by Mark Robson and starring Anthony Quinn, Alain Delon, George Segal, Michèle Morgan, Maurice Ronet and Claudia Cardinale. It is based on the best-sel ...
'' (1966), a version of ''
Les Centurions''.
In the 1970s, she virtually retired from her acting career, then made only occasional appearances in film, television and theatre.
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Morgan has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...
at 1645 Vine Street.
In 1969, the government of France awarded her the
Légion d'Honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
.
For her long service to the French motion picture industry, in 1992 she was given an
Honorary César Award.
In 1996, she also received the
Career Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the
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 he ...
.
Morgan took up painting in the 1960s.
She had a solo exhibition, "Artistes En Lumière à Paris", from 2 March to 30 April 2009, at the Espace Cardin in Paris.
In 1977 she released her memoir, titled ''With Those Eyes'' (''Avec ces yeux-là'').
Personal life and death
While in Hollywood, Morgan married
William Marshall (1917–1994), in 1942, with whom she had a son,
Mike Marshall (1944–2005).
Morgan had built and owned a house at
10050 Cielo Drive
10050 Cielo Drive was the street address of a former luxury home in Benedict Canyon, in the west-central part of the Beverly Crest neighborhood of Los Angeles, bordering Beverly Hills, where three members of the Manson Family committed the Tate ...
. Morgan and Marshall divorced in 1948. She married French actor
Henri Vidal
Henri Vidal (26 November 1919 – 10 December 1959) was a French film actor.
Film career
Henri Lucien Raymond VidalSource Les Gens du cinéma/ref> was first noticed after he won the "Apollo of 1939" contest in Paris. He was spotted by Éd ...
(1919–1959) in 1950. She remained with him until his death in 1959. She then lived with film director and actor/writer
Gérard Oury until his death in 2006.
Morgan died on 20 December 2016, aged 96, in
Meudon
Meudon () is a municipality in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is in the département of Hauts-de-Seine. It is located from the center of Paris. The city is known for many historic monuments and some extraordinary trees. One of t ...
, France of natural causes.
Her funeral was held at the Église Saint-Pierre in Neuilly-sur-Seine on 23 December 2016, and she was buried at the
Montparnasse Cemetery
Montparnasse Cemetery (french: link=no, Cimetière du Montparnasse) is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, in the city's 14th arrondissement. The cemetery is roughly 47 acres and is the second largest cemetery in Paris. The cemetery ...
.
Despite living to the age of 96, she technically only had 24 birthdays due to being born on 29 February.
Filmography
Trivia
The former
President of Chile
The president of Chile ( es, Presidente de Chile), officially known as the President of the Republic of Chile ( es, Presidente de la República de Chile), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is re ...
Michelle Bachelet
Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2018 to 2022. She previously served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and 2014 to 201 ...
was named after Michèle Morgan.
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
*
*
Michèle Morganat filmsdefrance.com
*
Photographs of Michèle MorganMichèle Morgan(Aveleyman)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Michele
1920 births
2016 deaths
Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress winners
César Honorary Award recipients
People from Neuilly-sur-Seine
People from Dieppe, Seine-Maritime
Actresses from Los Angeles
French expatriate actresses in the United States
French film actresses
French memoirists
Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
20th-century French actresses
Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite
RKO Pictures contract players
Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery
French women memoirists
21st-century American women