Marie-José Benhalassa (22 April 1940 – 10 October 2019), known professionally as Marie-José Nat, was a French actress. Among her notable works in cinema were the sequel films ''
Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Jean-Marc'' and ''
Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Françoise'' (1963), directed by
André Cayatte. In 1974, she received a
Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film ''
Violins at the Ball''.
Early life and family
Benhalassa was born in
Bonifacio,
Corse-du-Sud, to a
Kabyle Berber father, Abdelkader Benhalassa, and a
Corsica
Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...
n mother, Vincentine (Biancarelli).
['']Who's Who in France
The pronoun ''who'', in English, is an interrogative pronoun and a relative pronoun, used primarily to refer to persons.
Unmarked, ''who'' is the pronoun's subjective form; its inflected forms are the objective ''whom'' and the possessive ...
'', édition 2015,.[
.]
In 1960, she married the actor
Roger Dumas and divorced him in 1962. She then married French director
Michel Drach with whom she had three sons, David, Julien and Aurélien. They divorced in 1981. She had a relationship of several years with the actor
Victor Lanoux.
[Marie-José Nat]
on ''bifi.fr''. On 30 September 2005 she married the painter, writer and songwriter
Serge Rezvani in her third marriage.
She died in Paris of cancer at age 79.
[.]
Training
After secondary studies at the Ajaccio high school, Benhalassa entered the
cours Simon in Paris.
Career
Marie-José Benhalassa
Benhalassa began her career as a cover-girl and haute-couture model.
In 1955, she won a competition from the magazine ''
Femmes d'aujourd'hui'' which allowed her to become
Jean-Claude Pascal's partner in a
photo comics entitled ''L'amour est un songe''.
[
]
Marie-José Nat
Denys de La Patellière offered her her first major role in 1959 in '' Rue des prairies'' alongside Jean Gabin, in which she played his daughter. The following year, she performed in a comedy sketch 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. H ...
alongside Claude Rich and Yves Robert
Yves Robert (; 19 June 1920 – 10 May 2002) was a French actor, screenwriter, director, and producer.
Life and career
Robert was born in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, France. In his teens, he went to Paris to pursue a career in acting, starting w ...
, and obtained a major role in '' La Vérité'' by Henri-Georges Clouzot, playing Brigitte Bardot's rival opposite Sami Frey.
In 1965, she married filmmaker Michel Drach; they had three children and divorced in 1981. She starred in several of her husband's films: '' Amelie or The Time to Love'' (1961), '' Elise, or Real Life'' (1970) and '' Les violons du bal'' (1974), inspired by his childhood experiences during World War II. She was also known for ''Train of Life'' (1998), ''Litan'' (1982) and ''The Dacians'' (1966) with Jean Sorel, 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-World War II, war era. He starred in m ...
, Victor Lanoux and Bernadette Lafont as acting partners.
In 2001, Nat was a member of the jury at the 36th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (, KVIFF) is an annual film festival held in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern Eur ...
in 2001, and at the 24th Cabourg Film Festival
The Cabourg Film Festival takes place on the seaside of Normandy every year in June. With romance as its theme, the festival presents a selection of films dedicated to passion, love, and fantasies.
The festival was founded by Gonzague Saint Br ...
in 2010.
She was the first person to appear on the front cover of Télé 7 Jours
''Télé 7 Jours'' is a French weekly magazine published by Czech Media Invest in France. It publishes news and materials relating to French radio and television programming.
History and profile
Originally, the magazine was named "Radio 44" as ...
in its current name on 26 March 1960.
Awards and honours
Nat was awarded Best Actress at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival for her performance in '' Violins at the Ball'', and the film was nominated for the Golden Palm award.
She was made a chevalier of the Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
on 31 December 2004, chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite on 18 November 2002 and promoted to the rank of officer on 14 November 2011, commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...
as a member of the conseil de l'ordre of which she was a member from 1 March 2001 until April 2012Déclaration du ministre de la Culture et de la Communication, 2 April 2012
.
Roles
Theatre
* 1958: ''Virage dangereux'' by
John Boynton Priestley, directed by
Raymond Rouleau,
Théâtre Michel
* 1959: ''Blaise'' by , directed by
Jacques Mauclair,
Théâtre des Nouveautés
* 1966: ''Médor'' by
Roger Vitrac, directed by
Maurice Jacquemont, with
Bernard Noël,
studio des Champs-Élysées
* 1984: ''
Désiré'' by
Sacha Guitry
Alexandre-Pierre Georges "Sacha" Guitry (; 21 February 188524 July 1957) was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the boulevard theatre (aesthetic), boulevard theatre. He was the son of a leading French ac ...
, directed by
Jean-Claude Brialy, with Jean-Claude Brialy an
Bernadette Lafont,
Théâtre Édouard VII
* 1985: ''Voisin voisine'' after
Jerome Chodorov directed by
Pierre Mondy, with
Victor Lanoux,
Théâtre du Palais-Royal, then in 1986 at
Théâtre Montansier
* 1990: ''Avec ou sans arbres'' by
Jeannine Worms, directed by
Albert-André Lheureux, with
Henri Garcin,
Théâtre Hébertot
Film
Among her notable works in cinema were the sequel films ''
Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Jean-Marc'' and ''
Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Françoise'' (1963), directed by
André Cayatte.
[
* '']Crime and Punishment
''Crime and Punishment'' is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published in the literary journal '' The Russian Messenger'' in twelve monthly installments during 1866. '' (1956) - La jeune fille du bal (uncredited)
* ''Women's Club
The club movement is an American women's social movement that started in the mid-19th century and spread throughout the United States. It established the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform public policy. While wome ...
'' (1956)
* ''Donnez-moi ma chance'' (1957) - Rosine
* '' Happy Arenas'' (1958) - Violette
* ''Vous n'avez rien à déclarer?'' (1959) - Lise
* ''Secret professionnel'' (1959) - Elvire
* '' Rue des prairies'' (1959) - Odette Neveux
* ''Vive le duc!'' (1960) - Cécile
* ''Love and the Frenchwoman
''Love and the Frenchwoman'' is the US title of a 1960 French anthology film originally entitled ''La française et l'amour''. It starred Jean-Paul Belmondo and Dany Robin.
The movie was a big hit in France with admissions of 3,056,736.< ...
'' (1960) - The bride (segment "Mariage, Le")
* ''The Truth
The Truth may refer to:
Film
* ''The Truth'' (1920 film) starring Madge Kennedy
* ''The Truth'' (1960 film) or ''La Vérité'', a French film by Henri-Georges Clouzot starring Brigitte Bardot
* ''The Truth'' (1988 film), a Hong Kong trial cri ...
'' (1960) - Annie Marceau
* '' The Menace'' (1961) - Josépha
* '' Amelie or The Time to Love'' (1961) - Amélie
* '' The Seven Deadly Sins'' (1962) - La jeune femme (segment "Colère, La")
* '' Sentimental Education'' (1962) - Anne Arnoux
* '' Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Jean-Marc'' (1964) - Françoise Dubreuil
* '' Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Françoise'' (1964) - Françoise Dubreuil
* ''La bonne occase'' (1965) - Béatrice
* '' A Woman in White'' (1965) - Claude Sauvage
* '' Dacii'' (1966) - Meda - Decebalus' Daughter
* '' Diamond Safari'' (1966) - Electre
* ''Mon amour, mon amour'' (1967) - Minor Role (uncredited)
* '' Le Paria'' (1969) - Lucia
* '' L'Opium et le Bâton'' (1969) - Farroudja
* '' Elise, or Real Life'' (1970) - Elise Le Tellier
* ''Embassy
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a Sovereign state, state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase ...
'' (1972) - Laure
* ''Kruiswegstraat 6'' (1973) - Françoise Verbrugge
* '' Violins at the Ball'' (1974) - Elle (La femme et la mère de Michel) / Michel's wife
* '' Dis-moi que tu m'aimes'' (1974) - Charlotte Le Royer
* '' The Simple Past'' (1977) - Cécile
* '' La disubbidienza'' (1981) - Mrs. Manzi
* ''Anna'' (1981) - Anna
* '' Litan'' (1982) - Nora
* ''Black River'' (1991) - Mme Ginette
* ''Le nombril du monde'' (1993) - Oumi
* ''La nuit du destin'' (1997) - Mme Slimani
* '' Train of Life'' (1998) - Sura
* ''Colette, une femme libre
''Colette, une femme libre'' is a 2004 Biographical film, Biographical miniseries which explored the life of Colette.
Cast
* Marie Trintignant as Colette
* Wladimir Yordanoff as Henry Gauthier-Villars
* Lambert Wilson as Henry de Jouvenel
* Barb ...
'' (2004, TV Mini-Series) - Sido
* ''Le cadeau d'Elena'' (2004) - Elena
Nat also worked extensively in television series and dramas.
References
External links
*
Marie-José Nat
at Allmovie
AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, television series, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne.
History
AllMovie was ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nat, Marie-Jose
1940 births
2019 deaths
People from Corse-du-Sud
Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress winners
French film actresses
French television actresses
French people of Algerian descent
Actresses of Algerian descent
French people of Kabyle descent
French people of Corsican descent
20th-century French actresses
Knights of the Legion of Honour
Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite
Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Deaths from cancer in France