Françoise Dorléac
Acting
Françoise Paulette Louise DorlĂ©ac (21 March 1942 â 26 June 1967) was a French actress. She was the elder sister of Catherine Deneuve, with whom she starred in the musical comedy film, The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967). Her other films include Philippe de Broca's That Man from Rio, François Truffaut's The Soft Skin (both 1964), Val Guest's Where the Spies Are (1965), and Roman Polanski's Cul-de-sac (1966). DorlĂ©ac was the daughter of screen actors Maurice DorlĂ©ac and RenĂ©e Simonot. Slim, fair and blonde, she modeled for Dior and then made her film debut in The Wolves in the Sheepfold (1960), directed by HervĂ© Bromberger. She went on to appear in The Door Slams (1960) with Dany Saval and her sister Catherine Deneuve. DorlĂ©ac had a small role in Tonight or Never (1961) with Anna Karina for director Michel Deville, The Girl with the Golden Eyes (1961) with Marie LaforĂȘt, All the Gold in the World (1961) with Bourvil, and Adorable Liar (1961) from director Deville. DorlĂ©ac was Jean-Pierre Cassel's leading lady in The Dance (1962) and had one of the leads in a TV movie, Les trois chapeaux claques (1962), directed by Jean-Pierre Marchand. She was reunited with Cassel in ArsĂšne Lupin contre ArsĂšne Lupin (1962) and was one of many stars of the television movie Teuf-teuf (1963). DorlĂ©ac leapt to international stardom with the female lead in That Man from Rio (1964) starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and directed by Philippe de Broca. She followed it with The Soft Skin (1964) directed by François Truffaut. She was in The Gentle Art of Seduction (1964) with Belmondo and Jean-Paul Brialy, with her sister in a support part. DorlĂ©ac was one of several French stars in Circle of Love (1964) directed by Roger Vadim, and appeared in a TV show, Les petites demoiselles (1964), directed by Deville and starring De Broca. She also appeared in the comedy films, ArsĂšne Lupin contre ArsĂšne Lupin (1962) opposite Jean-Claude Brialy, and Male Hunt (1964), with Belmondo and her sister. That Man from Rio and Soft Skin were seen widely internationally and DorlĂ©ac received an offer to play the female lead in an expensive Hollywood financed epic, Genghis Khan (1965). She was David Niven's love interest in a spy film at MGM, Where the Spies Are (1966). DorlĂ©ac appeared as the adulterous wife in Roman Polanski's black comedy Cul-de-sac (1966), shot in Britain. She returned to France to star in a TV adaption of the Prosper MĂ©rimĂ©e novel Julie de Chaverny ou la Double MĂ©prise (1966) directed by Marchand. Then she joined Gene Kelly and her sister Catherine, who was a cinematic star by this time, playing starstruck singing twins in The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), an homage to Hollywood musicals. Her final film role was the female lead in Billion Dollar Brain (1967) opposite Michael Caine, who played spy Harry Palmer. DorlĂ©ac's parents were protective of her and her siblings, and well into adulthood she shared a bunk bed with her sister Catherine Deneuve in the family home, to which she regularly returned, according to Roger Vadim. DorlĂ©ac was on the brink of international stardom when she died in a traffic accident on 26 June 1967, aged 25. Source: Article "Françoise DorlĂ©ac" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.
