Stéphane Audran

Audran was born in Versailles and raised by her mother after her father, a doctor, died when she was six years old. A graduate of the Lycée Lamartine, she studied drama at the Ecole de théâtre Charles Dullin in Paris. She first appeared on stage, though with little success, and gave her film debut in the 1957 short film Le jeu de la nuit. Her first collaboration with director Chabrol was the 1959 Les Cousins, with whom she would make a total of 25 films. Having previously been married to actor Jean-Louis Trintignant, she married Chabrol in 1964. The couple had one son, actor Thomas Chabrol. Audran's major films with Chabrol include Les Biches, which earned her the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 18th Berlin International Film Festival, Le Boucher, Just Before Nightfall (1971), and Violette Nozière (1978), for which she won the César Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also starred in Eric Rohmer's 1959 debut film Le Signe du Lion (released in 1962), The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, for which she received the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role (together with Just Before Nightfall), Bertrand Tavernier's 1981 Coup de Torchon, and her internationally best known film, Babette's Feast. In addition, Audran had supporting roles in three films directed by Samuel Fuller. On TV, she appeared in productions like Brideshead Revisited (1981) and The Sun Also Rises (1984). Audran and Chabrol divorced in 1980, although she continued to appear in supporting roles in his films. She remained active as a character actress until the late 2000s. She died on 27 March 2018, aged 85, following a long illness. Her son Thomas reported that his mother had been in hospital for ten days before she returned home, where she died.