Maria Pacôme (18 July 1923 – 1 December 2018) was a French actress and playwright.

Biography

Born on 18 July 1923 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, Maria Pacôme was the daughter of Maurice Pacôme and Germaine Hivonait. Her father was deported to Buchenwald concentration camp and her brother was shot for being a Communist. When her father came back, Pacôme often found herself defending her mother against her father's violence. Maria began her higher education at Le Cours Simon in 1941, when she was 18. She was classmates with

Michèle Morgan 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 g ...

, Danièle Delorme, and her future spouse,

Maurice Ronet Maurice Ronet (13 April 1927 – 14 March 1983) was a French film actor, director, and writer. Early life Maurice Ronet was born Maurice Julien Marie Robinet in Nice, Alpes Maritimes. He was the only child of professional stage actors Émile Rob ...

. Pacôme married Ronet in 1950. She would set aside her career until their divorce in 1956.

Theatre

She began her stage acting career in 1956 with ''La Reine et les Insurgés'', written by

Ugo Betti Ugo Betti (4 February 1892 in Camerino – 9 June 1953 in Rome) was an Italian judge, better known as an author, who is considered by many the greatest Italian playwright next to Pirandello. Biography Betti studied law in Parma at the time when ...

and directed by Michel Vitold. In 1958, she acted in ''Oscar'', written by . She acted alongside Pierre Mondy and

Jean-Paul Belmondo Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo (; 9 April 19336 September 2021) was a French actor and producer. Initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s, he was a major French film star for several decades from the 1960s onward. His best known credits ...

in the play. Pacôme also appeared in '' N'écoutez pas, mesdames !'' by Sacha Guitry in 1962, ''Les Grosses Têtes'' by Jean Poiret and

Michel Serrault Michel Serrault (24 January 1928 – 29 July 2007) was a French stage and film actor who appeared from 1954 until 2007 in more than 130 films. Life and career His first professional job was in a touring production in Germany of Molière's '' Les ...

in 1969, and ''Joyeuses Pâques'' by Poiret in 1981.

Movies

Pacôme's first appearance on the big screen came in 1959 with ''Voulez-vous danser avec moi ?'' ('' Come Dance with Me''), directed by Michel Boisrond. She later took on numerous supporting roles, most notably in ''The Troops of St. Tropez'', ''

Up to His Ears ''Up to His Ears'' (french: Les Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine or in English, "Tribulations of a Chinaman in China") is a 1965 French=Italian international co-production adventure comedy film starring Jean Paul Belmondo and Ursula Andress. It w ...

'', and ''

Le Distrait ''Le Distrait'' ( en, Absent-minded, alternative English title: ''The Daydreamer'') is a 1970 French comedy film directed by Pierre Richard, starring Pierre Richard, Marie-Christine Barrault and Bernard Blier. The film combines elements of slapsti ...

''. Afterwards, she achieved leading roles in ''La situation est grave… mais pas désespérée'' by

Jacques Besnard Jacques Besnard (Also known as Jacques Treyens; born 15 July 1929 in Le Petit-Quevilly - died 9 November 2013 in Boutigny-Prouais) was a French film director, assistant director, film producer, producer, actor and screenwriter. Best known for '' ...

, ''Les Sous-doués'' by

Claude Zidi Claude Zidi (born 25 July 1934) is a French film director and screenwriter noted for his mainstream burlesque comedies. Born in Paris, he started as a cameraman and then a cinematographer, and he made his directorial and screenwriting debut in 1 ...

, and ''The Crisis'' (''La Crise'') by

Coline Serreau Coline Serreau (born 29 October 1947) is a French actress, film director and writer. Early life and education She was born in Paris, the daughter of theatre director Jean-Marie Serreau and actress Geneviève Serreau. In Paris, Serreau studi ...

Author and Playwright

Pacôme wrote seven plays: ''Apprends-moi Céline'', ''Le Jardin d'Éponine'', ''On m'appelle Émilie'', ''Les Seins de Lola'', ''Et moi et moi'', ''Les Désarrois de Gilda Rumeur'', and ''L'Éloge de ma paresse''. She wrote her memoirs, titled ''Maria sans Pacôme'', in 2007.

Television

Pacôme appeared in several TV movies, most notably starring in ''Docteur Sylvestre''. In 2006, she played the role of Hortense Bertin in the drama ''Les Secrets du volcan'', directed by Michaëla Watteaux. In 2011, she was the voice actor for the character "Granny" in the movie ''

Titeuf ''Titeuf'' (known sometimes as ''Tootuff'' in English) is a French comic series created by Swiss comic books creator Zep in 1992, which was adapted into a 2001 animated TV series and a 2011 film of the same name. It also appears in the dedica ...

''.

Death

Maria Pacôme died on 1 December 2018 in Ballainvilliers, France following a tumor near the amygdala. Her burial at the

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figure ...

on 10 December 2018 was attended by celebrities such as

Daniel Auteuil Daniel Auteuil (; born 24 January 1950) is a French actor and director who has appeared in a wide range of film genres, including period dramas, romantic comedies, and crime thrillers. In 1996 he won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Fest ...

and

Bernard Le Coq Bernard Le Coq (born 25 September 1950) is a French actor. He has appeared in more than one hundred and fifty films since 1967. His first big role Bernard Le Coq has played as Annie Girardot's son and Claude Jade's brother in the family dra ...

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pacôme, Maria 1923 births 2018 deaths Actresses from Paris Deaths from cancer in France French actresses French dramatists and playwrights