Jeanne Moreau, an actress inextricably linked to the rise of French New Wave cinema and who ascended to become one of her country’s most revered performers, has died. She was 89 years old. A cause of death has not yet been reported.
Tributes for the actress, who made an early mark on the cinema world with performances in films like Jules et Jim and Diary of a Chambermaid, have already begun pouring in from France’s highest circles. President Emmanuel Macron released a statement mourning Moreau, calling her “a legend of cinema.”
In the ‘70s, Roger Ebert called her “the greatest movie actress of the last 20 years.” Orson Welles, who directed her in four films, once simply called her “the greatest actress in the world.” Such accolades regularly made their way to the exacting star, who also won several awards in her lifetime—including the César, the French equivalent of an Oscar, for her performance in 1991’s The Old Lady Who Walked in the Sea. She was also given an honorary César three years later, and a lifetime-achievement César in 2008.
She acted well into her 80s, adding several chapters to her rich filmography, which included collaborations with Louis Malle, Jean Renoir, and Luis Buñuel. She married twice, first to director Jean-Louis Richard, then to director William Friedkin. She is survived by her son, Jerome Richard.
Moreau was fond of dating directors, particularly ones she worked with, including Malle and François Truffaut. Of the latter, she famously said she convinced him to start drinking Champagne. “He never would drink a drop,” she said in a 1976 interview with Ebert. “And so I told him, drink Champagne, it is lemonade for grown-ups. I think I started him on something.”
She was also famously cutthroat with men she could not tolerate, an unfortunate grouping that included a young Warren Beatty. In the ‘70s, Moreau joined the American star for a panel appearance at the Festival of Women’s Films in New York. However, she soon walked out on the panel, because she quickly realized she could not stand Beatty and his voracious flirtation.
“That Warren Beatty, he was very rude,” she told Ebert. “First, he came 20 minutes late. Then he threw out the television cameras. Why? He wanted to establish a relationship with the audience, which was mostly women. A relationship of power. I could feel it. Merde! So I walked out. I am usually a very calm person, but I was trembling.”
Moreau had a similar take-no-prisoners view on the world, unmoved by overly precious sentiment. The actress, who was presumably reminded of her past work in countless interviews and fan interactions, took a rather hard stance on nostalgia of any kind in her later years. In 2001, she told The Guardian that nostalgia is “terrible” and poses a threat to life. “The life you had is nothing,” she said. “It is the life you have that is important.”
