Stéphane Audran

On 6 December 2013, she took part in "Bernadette Lafont l'exposition hommage", a public exhibition dedicated to the memory of her late friend Bernadette Lafont. Along with actors Guillaume Gouix and Alexandra Stewart, she read some extracts of Bernard Bastide's new biography "Bernadette Lafont, une vie de cinéma", including some original letters written by Bernadette. The event was filmed by Gérard Courant and aired as an episode of "Carnets filmés", "In Memoriam Bernadette Lafont".

She's the first of only three French actresses to win the Best Actress BAFTA since the integration of Best British Actress and Best Foreign Actress to one category: the other two are Marion Cotillard in La Vie En Rose (2007) (in 2008) and Emmanuelle Riva in Amour (2012) (in 2013).

Her 24th and final film collaboration with ex-husband Claude Chabrol was Betty (1992), a rare instance where her character died at the end. As she read the script, Audran immediately got the feeling that this was going to be the last time she and Chabrol would work together, taking his choice of killing her character off as his way of ending their long partnership.

To cast the role of Babette Hersant in Babette's Feast (1987), director Gabriel Axel had made a list of 50 actresses, one of them being Audran. He eventually started to strongly consider her because he felt she possessed a natural Parisian way of doing things - such as walking or opening doors- that would have created the right contrast between Babette and the Danish characters. With Catherine Deneuve being his other dream pick, Axel eventually cast Audran thanks to the advice of her ex-husband, Claude Chabrol.

She had a strong input in Pauline Lafont getting cast in Cop au Vin (1985). She did this as a friendly favor to Pauline's mother, Bernadette Lafont.

She played the role of Charlotte in Les affinités électives (1982), a Claude Chabrol adaptation of Goethe's novel. In Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani's film adaptation, Elective Affinities (1996) , the role was played by Isabelle Huppert. Huppert had played Audran's daughter in Chabrol's Violette (1978) and replaced her as the director's muse.

She was initially reluctant to play the role of Isabelle Huppert's working class mother in Violette (1978), as she knew it wasn't a right fit for her. Her performance in the film was actually what led Gabriel Axel to consider her for the title role in Babette's Feast (1987), which became her signature movie.

She was an actress, known for Der diskrete Charme der Bourgeoisie (1972), Babettes Fest (1987) and Der Schlachter (1970). She was married to Claude Chabrol and Jean-Louis Trintignant.

In 1971, she signed the Manifesto of the 343 to support the legalization of abortion in France. After her conversion to Chinese medicine, she went on to regret her choice, stating that she wouldn't sign the petition anymore.

She personally wanted Jean Yanne as her co-star in Le Boucher (1970) after seeing him act on the set of This Man Must Die (1969) under the direction of her husband, Claude Chabrol. She advised Chabrol to write a new screenplay including a male character that would have showcased Yanne's animal side.

Jean-Louis Trintignant stated that he was a bit embarrassed when he had to film his erotic scenes with ex-wife Audran in Les Biches (1968) right under the eyes of Stéphane's new husband, Claude Chabrol.

During the shooting of Bluebeard (1963), producer Carlo Ponti was so appalled by her performance that he asked 'who's that slut who's playing Fernande?' Claude Chabrol (who was already engaged to Audran) slapped Ponti in the face and screamed 'that's my woman!' Claude and Stéphane married one year later.

She befriended Bernadette Lafont on the set of Les Bonnes Femmes (1960).

Having taken some lessons, she started to act on the stage in the 50's, appearing in theatrical productions of "La Tragédie des Albigeois" (1955), "La Maison Carrée" (1955) and "La Nuit Romaine" (1957), but failed to build a noteworthy stage career as several of her classmates had already done. After playing a few tiny roles on film, she asked emerging French New Wave star Gérard Blain (whom she knew from acting courses) if he could introduce her to director Claude Chabrol, with whom he had already done the successful Le Beau Serge (1958) and was going to team up again in The Cousins (1959). Blain granted her wish and introduced her to Chabrol, who gave her a role in "Les Cousins" and started to date her shortly after. The movie won the Golden Bear at Berlin Film Festival, but, with his immediately subsequent features- which often starred Audran- Chabrol used up most of the credit he had enjoyed with reviewers to the moment and Stéphane's performances were never greeted with critical enthusiasm. Only with Les Biches (1968), the director began to enjoy a second wave and started to cast Audran in roles of glacial bourgeois ladies better suited to her acting. This led the two of them to a successful cycle of thrillers in the late 60's-early 70's. Audran frequently stated she owed everything to Chabrol.

Married Jean-Louis Trintignant in 1953. Their relationship ended when he fell in love with Brigitte Bardot on the set of And God Created Woman (1956).

Stéphane Audran was born on November 8, 1932 in Versailles, Seine-et-Oise [now Yvelines], France as Colette Suzanne Jeannine Dacheville.