Carole Laure had a busy life and career. Over the past 50 years, she has appeared in more than 30 films and released 7 albums.
Through her projects and her successes, the actress has repeatedly asked herself questions that will remain unanswered. Her birth mother died when she was only two weeks old and her father gave her up for adoption.
She then joined a family that already had six children.
What would my life have been like if I had lived with my real parents? What would my life have been like if I had been adopted by another family? I tried to imagine what it could have been,” she said.
It was an extremely loving family, so I was loved. That’s what counts.
Patrice Roy speaks to Carole Laure
The good years of Quebec cinema
Her meeting with Gilles Carle at the age of 23 was the starting point of her career. “He is a man I loved very much. I think he was the one who made me want to go to the movies,” she says.
Between 1973 and 1983, the actress appeared in six films by Gilles Carle, whom she describes as a great filmmaker. “The way she looked, with all the contrasts, I loved that so much,” she explains. He juxtaposed horror with beauty, and that has always fascinated me.
It is [Gilles Carle] who made me discover the power of cinema. […] He completely fascinated me.
In the 1973 film Death of a Woodcutter, Carole Laure plays Marie Chapdelaine. It was Carole’s personal story that inspired Gilles Carle to write his screenplay.
His sensational entry into the world of cinema allowed him to film with the greatest directors such as Bertrand Blier and Jean-Charles Tacchella and to star alongside actors such as Jean-Louis Trintignant and Patrick Dewaere.
A #MeToo before its time
While the actress voluntarily participated in several racist scenes, she also experienced an event similar to those denounced during the #MeToo movement (#MeToo).
During the filming of the film “Sweet Movie,” Carole Laure had to leave the set after unreasonable requests from director Dušan Makavejev.
“It’s a long horror story, to the point where I was very scared and didn’t want to do films anymore,” she says.
She also highlights her support for the #MeToo movement. It is extraordinary that women denounce and rebel, she says.
A need for love and stability
Carole Laure believes that her family background had an influence on her need for longevity and stability in her love life. It probably played a role that I lived with the same man all my life, she analyzes.
“They gave me so much love that I had the nerve to want love and I found love,” she concludes.
Carole Laure met the musician Lewis Furey in 1977. For her the moment was devastating.
I loved him from the first day I laid my black eyes on his green eyes.
Carole had two children with Lewis: Clara and Thomas. Today she is a grandmother, a role that she particularly values. It’s the best role because mother, it’s not easy. “I don’t know if I was a good mother, I didn’t have a real mothering model,” she says.
“The greatest happiness at the moment are Tom and Lucas, my two grandchildren, who run to my house,” she says with a smile. I never thought I would enjoy being a grandmother so much.
Passion for music
The audio series Entre Carole et Lewis, presented on ICI Musique in winter 2023, provides entry into the musical universe of the two lovers.
Music also played a big role in the couple’s life. “I was so in love with Lewis’ music that I sang because of it,” she said. I wasn’t a singer, I didn’t have an extraordinary voice, but his music spoke to me and I wanted to sing with him, so I sang.
His children are also developing in the industry: his daughter dances and his son makes music. The actress emphasizes that they grew up with a lot of shows and music.
Death was part of my life
“I was afraid I wouldn’t live past 32 because my mother died when I was 32,” says Carole Laure. I was worried about turning 33 and couldn’t wait for my kids to turn 33 too.
In addition to the death of his mother, the artist also had to mourn his first child, who died during childbirth.
I haven’t talked about it much in my life, but it broke me a lot, she admits. What kept me going? It’s really a credit to Lewis.
Carole Laure is currently working on writing a book. It’s about me and my childhood, but it’s fiction, she explains.