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Jean-Paul Belmondo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jean-Paul Belmondo | ||||||
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| Born | April 9, 1933 Neuilly-sur-Seine, France |
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| Other name(s) | Bebel | |||||
| Spouse(s) | Elodie Constantin (1953-1965) Natty Belmondo (2002-Present) |
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Jean-Paul Belmondo (born April 9, 1933), is a two time BAFTA Awards nominated French actor.
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Born Neuilly-sur-Seine, west of Paris, Belmondo did not perform well in school, but developed a passion for boxing and football.
His breakthrough role was in Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless (1960), which made him a major figure in the French New Wave. Later he acted in Jean-Pierre Melville's philosophical movie Leon Morin, Priest (1960), then in the Film Noir crime film The Fingerman (1963). With That Man From Rio (1965) he started to switch to commercial mainstream productions, mainly comedies and action films. Until the mid-1980s, Belmondo's typical characters have been either dashing adventurers or more cynical heroes. He was one of France's biggest box-office stars until 1986. As he grew older, Belmondo preferred concentrating on his stage work, where he encountered great success. He suffered a stroke in 2001 and has since been absent from the stage and the screen.
Belmondo's father, Paul, was a famous sculptor of Sicilian descent.[1][2]
In 1953, Belmondo married Élodie Constantin, with whom he had three children; Patricia (1958), Florence (1960), and Paul (1963), who became a Formula One driver. His eldest daughter Patricia was killed in 1994 in a fire. In 1966, he and his wife were divorced, the same year Ursula Andress and John Derek divorced, due to a well-publicized affair between Belmondo and Ursula. In 1989, he met Nathalie Tardivel, better known as Natty, who was at the time 24 years old. Belmondo married Natty in 2002, on 13 August 2003, at the age of 70, his fourth child, Stella, was born.
He studied at CNSAD; after minor stage performances he made his screen debut in On Foot, on Horse, and on Wheels (1957) but the episodes with his participation were cut before release. However, the breakthrough role in Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless (1960) made him one of the key figures in the French New Wave. In the mid-60s he switched mainstream films and became a big comedy and action star in France. Following the example of Alain Delon he founded his own production company, Cerito, named after his grandmother's maiden name. In 1989 he was awarded Cesar for his performance in Itinéraire d'un enfant gâté (1988). Recently he returned to stage performing in the Theatre Marigny in Paris. He still appears in the movies but not so often as before preferring mostly dramatic roles. The president of France distinguished him with order of Legion of Honour. None of his children became actors though his son Paul appeared in Itinéraire d'un enfant gâté (1988), and in "Les Misérables" in 1995.
Belmondo is saluted in a 1967 episode of the U.S. television sitcom Get Smart. In the episode, entitled The Spirit is Willing, a top agent of the sinister spy agency KAOS is named Paul John Mondebello, an obvious alteration of Belmondo's name.[3] He is also mentioned in a song about "Masculinity" in the play "La Cage Aux Folles".
- ^ Bébel - Jean-Paul Belmondo Fanlisting
- ^ Famous French people of immigrant origin, Eupedia : France Guide
- ^ The Complete Get Smart Guide - Episode Guides - Third Season