Anouk Aimee, a French actress who passed away on Tuesday at the age of 92, captivated a generation of moviegoers with her tragic romance in Claude Lelouch’s box office hit “A Man and a Woman.”
Her portrayal of a bereft widow in the 1966 movie that became well-known for its “chabadabada, chabadabada” theme song earned her a nomination for the Academy Award, a Golden Globe for best actress, and a ticket into Hollywood.
Because of her sophisticated elegance, Aimee had already starred in European masterpieces like Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” (1960) and “8 1/2” (1963). She also left a lasting impression as the ageing showgirl in Jacques Demy’s tragic musical “Lola” (1961).
Her “face has the same intriguing sensuality as that of (Greta) Garbo, (Marlene) Dietrich, or (Cindy) Crawford, these great mysterious queens, these priestesses of femininity,” said Fellini, who in particular, who greatly admired her.
He stated, “Anouk Aimee is a representation of the kind of woman who worries you to death.”
Much of her extraordinary career was defined by this blend of “melancholy and passion,” and in 1994, American director Robert Altman brought her out of retirement to rekindle her romance with Marcello Mastroianni in the critically acclaimed “Pret a Porter.”
– Running from the Nazis
Aimee, who was born on April 27, 1932, as Francoise Dreyfus in Paris, was descended from a theatrical family.
When she was eight years old, German troops marched into the city, completely upending her existence. Despite being reared Catholic, her father’s Jewish heritage put the family in grave danger.
“We relocated frequently. We took cover, but the Germans soon discovered us and occupied the flat below’, she recounted.
The family changed her name to avoid having to wear a yellow star and sent her to the country, where they felt she would be safer.
She later remarked that the comfort animals provided her throughout her time in hiding was the source of her lifelong love of animals.
After the war, she was chosen from the street at the age of 13 to star in a Marcel Carne movie that was never completed due to financial difficulties.
The moment of Anouk’s “birth”
The next year, she made her on-screen debut and took on the name Anouk from her character. She would help it gain popularity in France.
The French artist and filmmaker Jacques Prevert persuaded her to adopt the name Aimee, which means “loved,” as her last name.
In 1949, she had great success with “The Lovers of Verona” by Andre Cayatte. Prior to working with Demy and Fellini, her class and attractiveness earned her a number of parts, notably “Montparnasse 19” by Jacques Becker.
Aimee was able to enter Hollywood because to the enormous popularity of “A Man and a Woman.” In 1969, she starred opposite Omar Sharif in George Cukor’s “Justine” and Sidney Lumet’s “The Appointment.”
However, following her 1970 marriage to British actor Albert Finney, her fourth husband, she took a seven-year hiatus from the workforce. Within eight years, they got divorced.
Aimee told AFP that seeing a movie is similar to seeing a boyfriend. “I adore that; it feels like a gift, and I love being loved.”
– Adorers –
With Aimee, romance and juggling lovers was an art form, which she executed with her signature grace.
She had several relationships, including ones with bisexual writers Jean Genet and Jean Cocteau, Omar Sharif, Warren Beatty, and the much younger filmmaker Elie Chouraqui, with whom she collaborated on several films.
“When she is miserable between love affairs, that is when she is most happy,” British actor and humorist Dirk Bogarde, who has known her since she was fifteen, remarked.
She was in fewer films by the 1980s, although in 1980 she was awarded best actress at the Cannes Film Festival for “A Leap in the Dark” directed by Marco Bellocchio.
She received an honorary Cesar in 2002, which is France’s equivalent of the Oscars, and Cannes honoured her four years later.
In 2019, she was back on the festival red carpet for the debut of Lelouch’s follow-up to “A Man and a Woman,” where Aimee returned with her original co-star Jean-Louis Trintignant to play their roles as an 80-year-old couple.
With the director of films Nico Papatakis, Aimee had a daughter. Additionally, she wed Pierre Barouh, the composer of “A Man and a Woman’s” famous tune.
She spent the final several decades of her life in the Montmartre neighbourhood of Paris, where dogs and cats abounded.
