Marie Laforêt

Marie Laforêt Headshot

Actress

Birth Date: October 5, 1939

Death Date: November 2, 2019

Birth Place: Soulac-sur-Mer, France

A sultry presence on screen in French cinema during the early 1960s, Marie LaForêt successfully transitioned to a popular second career as a singer of socially conscious folk and pop songs and later, a successful run in French theater. Born Maïtène Marie Brigittie Doumenach in the French seaside town of Soulac-sur-Mer on October 5, 1939, her childhood was marked by trauma and tragedy: her father, manufacturer Jean Doumenach, was captured by German forces and held as a prisoner of war until 1945, and during his absence, LaForêt was sexually abused on multiple occasions, beginning at the age of three, by a neighbor.

After her father was liberated in 1945, the family relocated several times before settling in Paris; there, LaForêt briefly considered becoming a nun before entering the Lycee La Fontaine. There, she became interested in acting, though her entry into the business came largely by accident: she replaced her ailing sister in a radio talent contest and won the competition, which brought her to the attention of critic-turned-director Louis Malle.

LaForêt was slated to make her film debut in one of Malle's films, but the project fell through, and she made her first screen appearance the following year in Rene Clement's "Plein Soleil" ("Purple Noon" 1960), a sun-drenched take on Patricia Highsmith's thriller The Talented Mr. Ripley. She followed its success with the breezy "Saint-Tropez Blues" (1961), for which she also sang the theme song; the performance led to LaForêt's second career as a recording artist, though her material hewed closer to the American folk scene than the kittenish "ye-ye" songs of other '60s French female performers as France Gall or Sylvie Vartan.

LaForêt helped to popularize Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" with her 1963 version of the song, and recorded numerous traditional folk and blues numbers sung in French and Spanish, and often with Middle Eastern arrangements. Her film career also continued at a steady clip during this period, with roles in films by Claude Chabral ("Blue Panther," 1965) Valerio Zurlini ("The Camp Followers," 1965) and Jean-Gabriel Albicocco, who became her first husband in 1961, before tapering off in the mid-point of the 1960s.

LaForêt's music career soon took precedent, thanks to a string of hits for the Polydor label, including a 1966 cover of the Rolling Stones' "Paint It, Black" and collaborations with songwriter Andre Popp like "Mon amour, mon ami" and "Manchester et Liverpool." Her music success continued into the 1970s, thanks to stately renditions of Simon Butterfly's "Rain, Rain, Rain" and the Beatles-themed ballad "Il a neige sur Yesterday" ("It Has Snowed on Yesterday"), but creative differences with her new label, CBS Records, led her to leave both pop and France behind for an art gallery in Switzerland.

LaForêt eventually returned to acting in French and Italian films and television projects, including the French comedy "F---king Fernand" (1987), which earned her a Cesar nomination, and an adaptation of Moliere's "The Miser" for Tonino Cervi in 1990. She also made forays into stage work, earning critical praise for her turn as Maria Callas in Terrence McNally's "Master Class" in 2000 and 2008, and returned to music to considerable acclaim on several occasions, including a sold-tour of France in 2000.

LaForêt retired from acting in 2010 after making her final screen appearance opposite another French icon, Jeanne Moreau, in "Dispositif 47- The Second Death" that same year. She passed away in her adopted home of Switzerland at the age of 80 on November 2, 2019.

Credits

Kean, roi de theâtre

Actor
Show
2022

La grande farandole

Guest
Show
2021

Télé-dimanche

Guest
Show
2015

Hit Melody Vintage

Music Performer
Show
2015

La bugiarda

Actor
Elvira
Show
2014

God's Offices

Actor
Martine
Movie
2008

Il deserto di fuoco

Actor
Rama
Show
1997

Heroínas

Actor
Sylvie
Movie
1997

Héroïnes

Actor
Sylvie
Movie
1997

Dis-moi oui...

Actor
Mme Villiers
Movie
1995

Mujeres a Flor de Piel

Actor
La mère de Marie / Marie's Mother
Movie
1995

Dis moi oui ...

Actor
Mme Villiers
Movie
1995

Ainsi soient-elles

Actor
La mère de Marie
Movie
1994

A Che Punto e la Notte

Actor
Chantal (Poiret) Guidi
Movie
1994

Tous les hommes de Sara

Actor
Movie
1992

El avaro

Actor
Contessa Isabella Spinosi
Movie
1990

La folle journée ou le mariage de Figaro

Actor
La comtesse
Movie
1989

F... Fernand

Actor
Movie
1987

Il est génial, papy

Actor
Movie
1987

Sale destin

Actor
Marthe Marboni
Movie
1986

Tangos: The Exile of Gardel

Actor
Mariana
Movie
1985

Simpático y caradura

Actor
Movie
1984

Joyeuses Pâques

Actor
Sophie Margelle
Movie
1984

Rufiones y Tramposos

Actor
Movie
1984

Les morfalous

Actor
Hélène Laroche-Fréon
Movie
1983

Les diplômés du dernier rang

Actor
Movie
1982

Flic ou voyou

Actor
Edmonde Puget-Rostand
Movie
1979

Numéro un

Music Performer
Show
1975

Le défi

Guest
Show
1973

Top à...

Guest
Show
1972

Le Petit Poucet

Actor
Movie
1972

Bent Fabricius-Bjerre: Jeg er sgu de andres

Music Performer
Show
1967

Jack of Diamonds

Actor
Olga
Movie
1967

La Treizième caprice

Actor
Movie
1967

Le Troisième caprice

Actor
Movie
1967

Réveillon sur les 2 chaines : 2ème chaine

Guest
Show
1966

Colpo grosso a Parigi

Actor
Movie
1965

Marie-Chantal contre Docteur Kha

Actor
Marie-Chantal Froidevaux des Chatenets
Movie
1965

Le soldatesse

Actor
Eftikia
Movie
1965

Blue Panther

Actor
Marie-Chantal Froidevaux des Chatenets
Movie
1965

La Redevance du fantôme

Actor
Movie
1964

La Chasse à l'homme

Actor
Movie
1964

Trouble With Women

Actor
Agathe
Movie
1964

Sacha Show

Guest
Show
1963

À cause, à cause d'une femme

Actor
Movie
1962

The Girl With the Golden Eyes

Actor
Movie
1961

Dark Journey

Actor
Angele
Movie
1961

Leviathan

Actor
Angele
Movie
1961

Saint-Tropez blues

Actor
Anne-Marie Brémond
Movie
1960

Purple NoonStream

Actor
Marge Duval
Movie
1960
95%

Le rat d'Amérique

Actor
Maria
Movie
1953