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Françoise Arnoul(1931-2021)

  • Actress
  • Costume Designer
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Françoise Arnoul
Watch Bande-annonce [OV]
Play trailer3:01
Synnintekijät (1956)
2 Videos
17 Photos
Leading French actress and dancer, born Annette Marie Mathilde Gautsch in Constantine, Algeria. Francoise was the daughter of French Artillery General Charles-Lionel-Honoré Arnould (1882-1969), who was stationed in Morocco when she was born. Her family moved to Paris in 1945, where she studied drama under Andrée Bauer-Thérond, and four years later made her motion picture debut. The story goes that the director Willy Rozier saw a photograph of her, was captivated by her face and petite figure and promptly cast her as the female lead in his drama L'épave (1949), often considered his best work. For much of the succeeding decade Francoise enjoyed a pre-Bardot sex symbol status, usually cast as temperamental, brooding or promiscuous heroines or femmes fatale opposite leading popular actors like Jean Gabin, Alain Delon and Charles Boyer. She was directed on five occasions by Henri Verneuil, who, along with Roger Vadim, had a lot to do with establishing her preeminent screen personae. Her best known starring roles were in Kielletty hedelmä (1952), Menneisyyden varjossa (1955), Jean Renoir's evocative Ranskalainen Can-Can (1955) (as Nini, the bakery girl turned dancer), Synnintekijät (1956), Viattomat synnintekijät (1959) and Julien Duvivier's Paholainen ja 10 käskyä (1962). Francoise's first exposure to American audiences was Vadim's Yöperhosia (1953), but some of her other films were banned in the U.S. and in Britain she was tagged as the 'X Girl'. Her career went into decline as Brigitte Bardot rose to prominence. Francoise continued to work as a character actress, primarily in television, well into her eighties.
BornJune 9, 1931
DiedJuly 20, 2021(90)
BornJune 9, 1931
DiedJuly 20, 2021(90)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos17

Françoise Arnoul and Margo Lion in Quai de Grenelle (1950)
Françoise Arnoul and Christian Marquand in Viettelysten Venetsia (1957)
Françoise Arnoul and Christian Marquand in Viettelysten Venetsia (1957)
Françoise Arnoul and Christian Marquand in Viettelysten Venetsia (1957)
Françoise Arnoul and Christian Marquand in Viettelysten Venetsia (1957)
Françoise Arnoul and Christian Marquand in Viettelysten Venetsia (1957)
Françoise Arnoul and Christian Marquand in Viettelysten Venetsia (1957)
Françoise Arnoul and Jean Gabin in Ranskalainen Can-Can (1955)
Françoise Arnoul in Ranskalainen Can-Can (1955)
Françoise Arnoul and Jean Gabin in Ranskalainen Can-Can (1955)
Françoise Arnoul
Françoise Arnoul in Kissa iskee (1960)

Known for:

Ranskalainen Can-Can (1955)
Ranskalainen Can-Can
7.3
  • Nini
  • 1955
Françoise Arnoul, Bernard Blier, Kurt Meisel, and Bernhard Wicki in Kissa näyttää kyntensä (1958)
Kissa näyttää kyntensä
6.6
  • Suzanne Ménessier dite Cora
  • 1958
Rüdiger Bahr in Lockruf des Goldes (1975)
Lockruf des Goldes
7.1
TV Mini Series
  • Cad Wilson
  • Sängerin
Françoise Arnoul in Kissa iskee (1960)
Kissa iskee
5.9
  • Cora Menessier dite La Chatte
  • 1960

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress

  • Catherine Deneuve, Pascal Cervo, and Paul Vecchiali in Le cancre (2016)
    Le cancre
    5.3
    • Mimi
    • 2016
  • Chiara Caselli and Daniel Duval in Beau rivage (2011)
    Beau rivage
    6.0
    • Marie-Hélène
    • 2011
  • Le voyageur de la Toussaint (2007)
    Le voyageur de la Toussaint
    6.8
    TV Movie
    • Mme Riquet
    • 2007
  • Duval: Un mort de trop
    TV Movie
    • Emilienne
    • 2001
  • Photo de famille
    Short
    • 2000
  • Merci pour le geste (2000)
    Merci pour le geste
    5.9
    • Elisabeth
    • 2000
  • Opettaja ohjaimissa (1993)
    Opettaja ohjaimissa
    5.1
    TV Series
    • Hélène Lachesnay
    • 1998
  • L'histoire du samedi (1995)
    L'histoire du samedi
    5.1
    TV Series
    • Marguerite
    • 1998
  • Une patronne de charme
    7.2
    TV Movie
    • Corinne Moustier
    • 1997
  • Intohimon hinta (1997)
    Intohimon hinta
    5.8
    • Madame LePluche
    • 1997
  • Catherine Arditi and Françoise Arnoul in Temps de chien (1996)
    Temps de chien
    5.1
    • Rosa Bellefeuille
    • 1996
  • Billard à l'étage
    6.4
    TV Movie
    • Violette
    • 1996
  • Raymond Souplex in Les cinq dernières minutes (1958)
    Les cinq dernières minutes
    8.1
    TV Series
    • Florence
    • 1994
  • Les années campagne (1992)
    Les années campagne
    5.4
    • La grand-mère
    • 1992
  • Nouvelles de Marcel Aymé
    TV Series
    • Denise Martin
    • 1991

Costume Designer

  • Beau masque (1972)
    Beau masque
    • Costume Designer
    • 1972

Soundtrack

  • Eddie Constantine in Puhdasta jälkeä (1964)
    Puhdasta jälkeä
    6.7
    • performer: "J'Aime mon Totor"
    • 1964

Videos2

Bande-annonce [VO]
Trailer 1:27
Bande-annonce [VO]
Bande-annonce [OV]
Trailer 3:01
Bande-annonce [OV]

Personal details

Edit
  • Official sites
    • France's national library catalogue
    • Theater_org
  • Alternative name
    • Francoise Arnoul
  • Height
    • 1.60 m
  • Born
    • June 9, 1931
    • Constantine, Algeria
  • Died
    • July 20, 2021
    • Paris, France(long illness)
  • Spouse
    • Georges Cravenne1956 - 1964
  • Publicity listings
    • 2 Interviews
    • 2 Articles
    • 2 Pictorials
    • 30 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Had an affair with director Bernard Paul, who directed her in Dernière sortie avant Roissy (1977).

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