Today I would like to follow the sometimes unknown passages from Danielle Ouimet’s youth.
His father, Georges, a lieutenant in the Régiment de Maisonneuve, was a cheerful guy. While her mother Lucille, who was a hairdresser, imposed discipline on her.
Her mother constantly pushed Danielle to succeed, and once that aspect was over, she took another opportunity to push her to excel. She constantly told him that she could succeed in anything she did. Danielle was afraid that her parents wouldn’t be proud of her.
Danielle was part of the Quiet Revolution of Quebec cinema with her role as Valérie in the film of the same name. People associate Danielle, and with good reason, with the film Valérie, one of the most popular in the history of Quebec cinema.
However, they forget that her popularity has allowed her to raise more than $50 million for the causes she supports. Danielle Ouimet is an extraordinary woman who always finds time to help people in need.
You are originally from Montreal.
Before the introduction of expressways in 1967, we lived on Décarie Boulevard. The tram also passed in front of our house. I always threatened my parents that I would take it with me to escape the house. When I was 6 years old, my mother became furious, gave me 10 cents and then threw me out of the house.
What did you do ?
After an hour my parents thought I was coming home. But that wasn’t the case and they started looking for me. I hid under the stairs of the balcony of the house.
They were often in Windsor in the Eastern Townships.
My grandparents had a house on 2nd Avenue. When I got out of the car, I regained my freedom. I quickly ran to my many cousins.
Car racing in the forest.
There were five of us in the wild train that was attached to my father’s car with a rope. This drove quickly on the snow slopes. It was exciting but dangerous.
Your father taught you to swim.
He scared me so much a few times! More specifically, when he put me in the gear bag racks on the roof of a car that was rolling rapidly as I moved from left to right and had great difficulty controlling my movements. I was 6.
Your swimming lessons.
When we got to the end of the dock he just threw me into the lake. I learned to swim quickly. Since these two experiences, I am no longer afraid.
You studied at the Museum of Fine Arts.
On Saturday mornings, my mother gave the bus driver 10 cents and reminded him to drop me off at the Fine Arts Museum for painting class.
Your first car.
My grandfather and father owned the Volkswagen dealership on Saint-Hubert Street. My father did everything he could to stop me from driving because he was afraid I would get into a tragic accident.
The nuns played an important role in your life.
My parents enrolled me in a monastery run by religious sisters in Saint-Hyacinthe and later in Marieville. They enabled me to discover my passion for painting and the stage.
When you are pregnant at the age of 19, your parents send you to France to give birth.
My parents didn’t accept it. They didn’t want family and friends to find out.
You were alone when your son came.
Not quite. I served as a guinea pig at the University of Freiburg as they conducted research into preventing pain during childbirth.
Was the research a success?
No, the pain that only a woman feels has always remained. The good news is that I wasn’t alone. Next to me there was a university group for gynecology-obstetrics. I was away for four months and during that time my brothers and sisters did not find out that I had given birth to a boy.
When did they learn it?
When my son Jean-François was two years old, I decided to introduce him to my brothers and sisters. Their love for him when they first saw him touched me deeply.
Later you experienced a painful moment.
I met my son and his father, who were returning from France, at Dorval airport. When I arrived I was devastated.
For what ?
I was looking forward to seeing our son, but he wasn’t there, his father had decided to leave him with his parents in France. Imagine the reaction of a young mother whose child has been taken away.
Had he made the right decision?
Later in my life I realized he was right, but that didn’t stop me from feeling so much pain from not having my son by my side.
You wanted to defy your parents when you accepted the role of Valérie in a racy film.
They always told me that at 21 I could decide my fate, so I made that decision and I don’t regret it.
What was their reaction?
They accepted my decision without ever blaming me. They never admitted to me that they had seen the film. Just five years ago, my cousin told me that her parents and my father and mother had seen the film.
Tell us about Jean-François, your son.
He has a sense of humor and is a remarkable family man. Today he is the first assistant director for the sequel to The Walking Dead. My granddaughter Alexia is adorable.
“What the hell was that for? » This is how you describe your life.
Why is there so much inequality in society on this wonderful earth? If there is no continuation after our stay on this earth: “What was my life for, sacrament!” »
