There's no way that any list of stunning French people could be compiled without including the original sex kitten, notre BB. So here she is, in all her glory.
Brigitte Bardot was born in Paris in 1934, and quickly rose to fame thanks to her striking features. She became one of the world's first "sex-kittens": women whose beauty is based in their teenage image. She played a lot of controversial roles, including a role in And God Created Woman - which was heralded by feminists. In fact, she's stirred quite a storm in feminist theory, and was the subject of Simone de Beauvoir's essay The Lolita Syndrome, which discusses teenage girls as sexual objects, and the culture of abuse.
Aside from the Lolita aesthetic, she brought that gorgeous deliberately-messy style to the world: a mix between wind-swept and perfectly styled hair which we all strive for.
Bardot knew that her capitol was her body, and her roles exploited it. Jean Luc Godard's cast her in Le Mépris as a critique of exactly this - the star body. The problem, though, with depending on your youthful beauty for your career is that, of course, it's finite. As Bardot's looks began to fade, she turned her hand to animal rights activism, and all but disappeared from the silver screen.
Part three is famous for his beauty, and he knew it. The face that launched a thousand films, I present to you:
Alain Delon
Anyone who is even vaguely familiar with classical French cinema knows the movie poster for Plein Soleil. It was the film that finally focused the lens on the man's body, rather than the woman's. After nearly a century of objectification, the gaze turned to the man. There are things to be said about Delon not just being the subject of the gaze in Plein Soleil, but also the object, but that's another topic. We're just here for the actor.
A 30's baby, Delon quickly became known as the James Dean of France (isn't it funny how French actors are all just considered doppelgängers of Americans?). He flaunted his chiseled cheekbones and bathed in the glory of being France's most adored face. He was even called the male Brigitte Bardot. Like most gorgeous French stars, he had a brief marriage with another beauty of the silver screen, Romy Schneider, and a picturesque couple they were.
Like a lot of his predecessors, Delon enjoyed success in Hollywood, and then moved his mind to policiers (much like Gabin) once he started to lose his angelic features.
Part two brings us a timeless beauty, a powerful and wonderful woman hailed as one of France's greatest actresses. Simone Signoret.
Born in 1921, Signoret was another star of the French classic. After starring in Room at the Top, she became the first French person to win an Academy Award, and gained international fame. She's often been called the Marilyn Monroe of France, because of her striking features and blonde hair. In fact, Signoret and Monroe were close.
During her later years, Signoret received a lot of criticism for gaining weight and letter go of her looks (welcome to the Woman's world), but in reality she aged with impeccable grace.
The start of second year has come, and I'm overly excited to be taking a module in French cinema. I've always loved film (can you tell?) and wanted to take a deeper look into it, so this module seems perfect to me. We're only a few weeks into the course, but so far I've learnt that French stars from the 20th Century were beyond beautiful, so I'm going to do a mini-series to introduce to you the best of the bunch.
Chronological order probably suits best; in order of beauty would be too tough a decision. So first to the mark is Jean Gabin, the original rough-around-the-edges hunk.
Born in 1904, he rose to fame in French cinemas as the gentleman to end them all, starring in classics like Pépé le Moko, La grande illusion, Le Quai des brumes, La bête humaine, and Le jour se lève. Looking at his portrait, it's no surprise that he and Marlene Dietrich shared a torrid romance for a few years, before it came to an end following the failure of a film they were starring in together. He's come to be considered a father-figure of French acting, and was even made a member of the Légion d'honneur.
As Gabin aged, he let go of the classic genre and turned his hand to policiers (what you and I know as cop films), playing on his new, fatherly reputation amongst French cinema-goers. Definitely prefer the young, dapper version of him.
No one's really sure what it is about Gabin that makes him so heralded, but whatever it is, it definitely worked in his favour.
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