Catherine Deneuve

Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve ( UK: /dəˈnɜːv/, US: /dəˈnʊv/, French: [katʁin dənœv] ), is a French actress. She is considered one of the greatest European actresses on film. In 2020, The New York Times ranked her as one of the greatest actors of the 21st century.

Deneuve made her screen debut in 1957 at age 13, in a film shot the previous year when she was only 12. A major figure of the New Wave, she became, like Brigitte Bardot and Alain Delon, one of the best-known French artists in the world. In a career spanning nearly 70 years, she has played more than a hundred roles and is recognized in France and internationally for being one of the key faces of the musical film genre with appearances in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The Young Girls of Rochefort, Donkey Skin, 8 Women and The Beloved. Early in her career, she gained acclaim for her portrayals of aloof and mysterious beauties while working for well-known directors such as Luis Buñuel, François Truffaut, Jacques Demy, Roman Polanski, and Agnès Varda. Her career led her to work in several countries: in the United States, under the direction of Robert Aldrich and Tony Scott; in the United Kingdom, collaborating with Terence Young and Dick Richards; in Italy, with Marco Ferreri, Mauro Bolognini, Sergio Citti, Mario Monicelli and Dino Risi; in Spain, with Luis Buñuel; in Portugal, with Manoel de Oliveira; in Denmark, with Lars von Trier; in Japan, with Eric Khoo; and also in Austria, Russia and Lebanon. She played in films attracting a total of nearly 99 million spectators in theaters, making her the working actress with the most admissions in France. In 1985, she succeeded Mireille Mathieu as the official face of Marianne, France's national symbol of liberty.