Alain Delon Dies: French Star of ‘Le Samouraï’ & ‘The Leopard’ Was 88

Alain Delon, an iconic actor of 1960s and 1970s French cinema, has died at age 88.

Delon’s children said he died early in the morning of Sunday, August 18, at his château in Loiret, France, surrounded by family and his Belgian Shepherd Loubo, according to Deadline.

The actor was known for his roles in films like 1963’s The Leopard and 1967’s Le Samouraï, the former of which earned him attention stateside with his Golden Globes nomination in the Most Promising Newcomer – Male category.

In an X post on Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Delon “played legendary roles and made the world dream” and that the “melancholic, popular, secretive” actor was not just a star but “a French monument.”

After a stint fighting in the First Indochina War in the 1950s, Delon broke into show business through his relationships with the actors Brigitte Auber and Michèle Cordoue, who connected him to filmmakers and got him parts. (His other famous partners over the years included Christine costar Romy Schneider, singer Nico, and model Nathalie Barthélémy, the lattermost of whom was his wife for a short time.)

Delon’s filmography includes roles in 1960’s Plein Soleil and Rocco and His Brothers, 1962’s L’Eclisse, 1968’s The Girl on a Motorcycle, and 1976’s Monsieur Klein. He was the recipient of the 1985 César Award for Best Actor (for 1984’s Notre Histoire) and the 2019 Cannes Honorary Palme d’Or.

Rachida Dati, France’s culture minister, hailed Delon as one of the greatest actors of world cinema. “His talent, his charisma, his aura designated him at a very young age to make a career in Hollywood, but it was France that he chose,” Dati added on X. “If he always remained faithful to auteur cinema, he never feared other roles. … He will have embodied, like no one else, the unity of French cinema. A child of the seventh art, he leaves France orphaned of its most beautiful incarnation on the screen.”