A true icon of French cinema, Jean-Paul Belmondo has had a rich career in both cinema and theater. After appearing in around sixty feature films and playing important roles in around thirty plays, illness forced him to stop.
This biography is the only one in which the actor has agreed to participate, granting several interviews to the author Philippe Durant throughout his life, and delights his fans.
Photo provided by Nouveau Monde Editions
After three reprints, an updated edition has just been published that recounts, in the presence of numerous actors and public figures, the most emotional national tribute that Belmondo experienced after his death in 2021. This touching event forms the first chapter of the biography.
A victim of a severe stroke, his star gradually faded, forcing him to quit with regret. The actor, who died two years ago and did his own stunts, remains anchored in the hearts of the French.
In this book we can clearly see the admiration that the author Philippe Durant has for the actor. Several people close to Belmondo with whom the author spoke consider him to be a curious, enlightened man who always asked a lot of questions.
“I was excited to hear it. “A man of this size, you sometimes even listen to him speechless,” says one of the relatives.
Easy start
Belmondo was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1933 and comes from a family of artists: his father is a renowned sculptor and his mother is a painter.
Although the family had no wealth – his father had difficulty making ends meet with his job, especially during the Second World War – art was still considered something precious, which had a positive effect on the future actor. We’ll send him to the best schools in Paris.
More interested in sports than studies, he had an epiphany around the age of 16 when he attended Molière’s play Les Femmes savantes.
At that moment he decided to become an actor. His parents encouraged him to study at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Art. He tried three times before being admitted.
In 1960, just 27 years old, Belmondo caused a stir with the film “Breathless”.
He took on roles in the cinema and sometimes shot up to six large productions a year.
He was also a success on stage, especially with the play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand at the end of the 1980s, which captured the hearts of the audience.
Notable films include “The Brain,” “Fear of the City,” and “Ace of Aces.”
However, his love life is eventful. He will have three children with his first wife, the dancer Élodie Constantin. His daughter Patricia died at the age of 39 in a fire in her Paris apartment.
Dark finale
Although Belmondo enjoyed privileges throughout his illustrious career, we unfortunately note that the last years of his life were trying.
In 2001 he suffered a stroke. The after-effects are severe and rehabilitation takes a long time. He has facial paralysis on the right side. He had to give up several film shoots, including the adaptation of the novel “The Lion,” and made way for Alain Delon.
He said several times that he wanted to return to the film sets, but was refused. However, he returned briefly in 2008, without much success. In 2015 he announced his retirement from cinema and theater.
Jean-Paul Belmondo died on September 6, 2021 at his home in Paris at the age of 88.
Honors and honors
Among the many awards, honors and honors received, here are a few:
- In 1989 he won the César for Best Actor for “The Journey of a Spoiled Child.”
- In April 2007 he was promoted to Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honor.
- In 2011 he won the Palme of Honor at the Cannes Film Festival.
- He received a career-long honor from the César Academy in 2017 and 2022.
- In 2019 he became a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor.