Jeanne Moreau was a French actress who made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française. She was the daughter of a Folies Bergere dancer. Moreau played minor roles in movies from 1949 but it wasn’t until Louis Malle’s Elevator to the Gallows (1958) quickly followed by the The Lovers (Les Amants) by the same director the next year, that she achieved stardom. She went on to appear in Michelangelo Antonioni’s La Notte (1961) and notably in François Truffaut’s Jules et Jim (1962). She went on to appear in over 120 movies. Orson Welles once called her the greatest actress in the world.
She died during the summer of 2017 aged 89 – not bad going for a smoker for much of her life.
Jeanne Moreau and Miles Davis during the recording of the music for Louis Malle’s film ‘Ascenseur pour l’échafaud’, December 1957
My face has changed with the years and has enough history in it to give audiences something to work with.
Jeanne Moreau as Catherine the Great in ‘Great Catherine’ 1968 – Terry O’Neill
As long as you don’t make waves, ripples, life seems easy. But that’s condemning yourself to impotence and death before you are dead.
Raymond Cauchetier, Henri Serre, Oskar Werner and Jeanne Moreau in Jules et Jim directed by François Truffaut, 1962
You don’t have to be a wreck. You don’t have to be sick. One’s aim in life should be to die in good health. Just like a candle that burns out.
Oskar Werner andJeanne Moreau in Jules et Jim directed by François Truffaut, 1962
Knowing how to die is knowing how to live. What is death anyway? It’s the outcome of life.
Jeanne Moreau, Henri Serre and Oskar Werner by Raymond Cauchetier in Jules et Jim directed by François Truffaut, 1962
I think more and more people want to live alone. You can be a couple without being in each other’s pockets. I don’t see why you have to share the same bathroom.
Relaxing on a lounge chair at Lido Beach in Venice – 1961
Death is an absolute mystery. We are all vulnerable to it, it’s what makes life interesting and suspenseful.
September 1964 In a dress with tiered ruffles and a tulle headpiece on the set of Mata Hari, Agent H21, directed by Jean-Louis Richard in France.
Death is an absolute mystery. We are all vulnerable to it, it’s what makes life interesting and suspenseful.
May 1962 In a black gown and white cape at the Cannes Film Festival in France.
On set filming Pigalle-Saint-Germain-des-Prés by French director André Berthomieu – 1950
Trying on a dress at the Chanel boutique in Paris 1960
In a feather-detailed pink dress matching with actress Brigitte Bardot while on set of Viva Maria – 1965
Jeanne Moreau, circa 1960
Jeanne Moreau is seen in her role as Mata Hari, Agent H-21, in Paris, October 1964
Jeanne Moreau in Jules et Jim directed by François Truffaut, 1962 by tree
Jeanne Moreau and Henri Serre in Jules et Jim directed by François Truffaut, 1962
Jeanne Moreau and Henri Serre in Jules et Jim directed by François Truffaut, 1962
Henri Serre, Jeanne Moreau and Oskar Werner in Jules et Jim directed by François Truffaut, 1962
Jeanne Moreau and Miles Lift to the Scaffold
Jeanne Moreau – François Truffaut On the set of Jules et Jim Photo by Raymond Cauchetier
Laughing on the set of the film 5 Branded Women, directed by Martin Ritt, in Italy – 1959
May 1948 In a Victorian-inspired dress and matching veil performing in Les Espagnols au Denmark at the Comedie-Francaise in Paris.
September 30, 1959 Wrapped in a knit sweater in Paris.
Filming Touchez Pas au Grisbi by French director Jacques Becker in France – 1954
1955
Jeanne Moreau, Oskar Werner Jules et Jim 1961 – photo Raymond Cauchetier
Jeanne Moreau – ‘La Notte’ (1960) tells the story of a married couple with a deteriorating relationship
At the Savoy Hotel in London – 1956
1953
Performing in The Prince of Homburg at the People’s National Theater in France, 1952
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