Louisette Dussault was an actress admired and respected by the public. But for Catherine Sénart, she was a “present, creative and inventive” aunt. “I’ve always admired his talent,” she says.
• Also read: Actress Louisette Dussault has died at the age of 82
“We talked about the job together, we even worked together on certain projects,” recalls the 52-year-old actress. I see her in Green Mouse and it’s amazing how charming and funny she was. It haunted her all her life, she had that talent to the end. »
Louisette Dussault died “peacefully” and “surrounded by her daughters” on Monday, the communications agency Ixion said in a press release. In an interview with the Journal, Catherine Sénart confirms that her aunt has died at the age of 82 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s.
The slow deterioration of her aunt, who began to forget the people around her as the illness progressed, was particularly difficult for her two daughters, the twins Ève and Paule, says the actress. “We lost her little by little, our Louisette,” she says.
Catherine Sénart’s wife, actor Luc Guérin, recalls meeting Louisette Dussault when she left the National Theater School in 1984.
“We organized a tour of Canada with old and new students to celebrate the school’s 25th anniversary. Two minutes after we first met, I felt like I had known her for a long time,” he says.
By involving the family circle, he then got to know the great lady more personally.
“She was a great actress, immense talent, but also a great woman, a heart of gold, a loving person and a light wherever she went,” he says. She gave much love and received much of it. It was a light of female integrity. She was fun, generous, social and interested in many things including the social destiny of people. »
Photo from the archive, agency QMI
Important feminist figure
In the same breath, the couple praised Louisette Dussault’s numerous feminist initiatives, particularly her role as a pioneer in defending the status of women in Quebec.
“There were all the shows that she did that were precursors to feminism,” stresses Luc Guérin. She leaves a legacy that continues to this day and is very important to women. She was a pioneer in Quebec. She was human and at the same time rigorously took her place. She went into battle and did it all her life, she was not afraid of challenges. It was a real privilege to meet her. »
The actor regrets that Louisette Dussault did not have better living conditions in the last years of her life due to her degenerative disease.
“She needed treatment. At the end she often said: “I worked a lot! I wish she had lived longer because she deserved to be able to rest and enjoy. »