Danielle Darrieux

Born: 1 May 1917
Where: Bordeaux, France

Raised in Paris, Darrieux was only 14 when she auditioned for a role in Le Bal - she got the part and the producer offered her a five-year contract.

She had her first romantic lead in La Crise est finie and scored an international hit with the historical drama Mayerling. In 1938 she went to Hollywood to appear in the comedy The Rage of Paris, but quickly returned to Paris.

She was married to director Henri Decoin from 1935 to 1941 and starred in several of his movies in the 1950s.

After a three-year break during WWII, she made a comeback in 1945, appearing both on stage and on screen in Au petit bonheur.

In the next three decades she found several important roles, in films like La Ronde, Madame de....- in which she gave her best performance as a society lady torn between her husband and her lover - and Les Demoiselles de Rochefort.

In 1970 she replaced Katharine Hepburn on Broadway in "Coco". Afterwards, she made occasional screen and stage appearances. She made a triumphant comeback in 2002, playing Catherine Deneuve's mother in the international hit 8 femmes.