Montevecchi was born on October 13, 1932 in the 15th arrondissement of Paris. Her father, Franco Montevecchi, was an Italian painter. Her mother, Janine Trinquet, was a hat designer.[1] Her parents separated shortly after her birth, and she was raised mainly by her mother.[1]
Montevecchi replaced Colette Brosset in the 1958 Broadway revue La Plume de Ma Tante. After some television work in series such as Playhouse 90 and Adventures in Paradise at the end of the decade, Montevecchi opted to leave Hollywood for a star spot in the Folies Bergère in Las Vegas, toured with the company for nine years before appearing at the Folies Bergère in Paris from 1972 to 1978. In 1982, she drew the attention of critics and audiences for her performance in Nine, with Raúl Juliá, for which she won both the Tony and Drama Desk Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Seven years later, she starred in Grand Hotel, earning a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.[3]
On TV, she guests–starred in more than 20 shows. Montevecchi also appeared in the films Wall Street and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days with Matthew McConaughey. She appeared in concert at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center and toured internationally with her semi-autobiographical shows On the Boulevard and Back on the Boulevard. Her solo album On the Boulevard is available from Jay Records. She is featured in the recording of the 1985 concert version of Follies staged at Avery Fisher Hall, and she has starred in musicals such as Irma La Douce, Gigi and Hello Dolly!.
She returned to Teatro ZinZanni in June 2009 to reprise the role and in September 2011 in the show Bonsoir Liliane!, starring with Kevin Kent, directed by Tommy Tune and choreographed by Tobias Larsson.
In March 2015, Montevecchi won critical praise for recreating her Tony-nominated role of Grushinskaya in Grand Hotel: The 25th Anniversary Reunion Concert at 54 Below in New York City.
In November 2015, at the behest of producer Patrick Niedo, Montevecchi brought her solo show Aller-Retour (Round Trip) to Paris for the first time.
On July 12, 2017, she joined Francesca Capetta and Stacy Sullivan for a birthday salute to the late film star and recording artist Dean Martin in the Weill Recital Hall at New York’s Carnegie Hall.
Montevecchi died on June 29, 2018, at age 85.[1] A memorial service was held July 6, 2018, at Gotham Hall in New York City [9] and she was buried in Gambais, France.
In 1982, Montevecchi won both the Tony and Drama Desk Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Liliane La Fleur in Nine.[9]
She earned a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as Elizaveta Grushinskaya in Grand Hotel in 1990.[2]
She was honored by the French Minister of Culture as the "Officer of Arts and Culture" to France and the world at large in 2013.[3]
In January 2017, Montevecchi was given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Ziegfeld Society of New York City.[10]
Montevecchi along with Sara García in The Living Idol (1957)
Women of Paris (1953) as Une Femme de Paris (as Montevecchi)
Comment j'ai accepté ma place parmi les mortels (2008, short) as Mirna
Jours de France (2016) (a.k.a. 4 Days in France, English title) as Judith Joubert (final film role)
La Croqueuse de Diamants (1952), Théâtre de l’Empire, Paris, France
La Plume de Ma Tante, original Broadway production (1958), Broadway
La Grosse Valse (1962-1963), Théâtre des Variétés, Paris, France as Nana
Folies Bergère, original Broadway production (1964), Broadway
Nine, original Broadway production (1982), Broadway as Liliane La Fleur
Gotta Getaway! (1984) Radio City Music Hall, New York
Irma La Douce (1986) with Robert Clary, Atlantic City
Star Dust, concert reading (1987), New York
On the Boulevard (1988), Kaufman Theatre, New York
Nymph Errant, London concert revival (1989), West End, London, UK
Grand Hotel, original Broadway production (1989), Broadway as Elizaveta Grushinskaya
Grand Hotel, national tour (1992), US Tour
Nine, London concert revival (1992), West End, London, UK as Liliane La Fleur
Grand Hotel, London production (1992), West End, London, UK as Elizaveta Grushinskaya
Hello, Dolly! (1995), Opéra Royal de Wallonie, Liège, Belgium
Gigi (1996) with Gavin MacLeod, Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn, New Jersey
Back on the Boulevard (1996), Kaufman Theatre, New York
Divorce Me, Darling!, Regional Revival (1997), UK
Gigi (1998) with Gavin MacLeod, TX's Theatre Under the Stars, Houston, Texas
Follies, Paper Mill Playhouse Revival (1998), Millburn, New Jersey as Solange Lafitte
The Wizard of Oz, Radio City Entertainment's touring production (1998-1999) as The Wicked Witch of the West
Mistinguett, la dernière revue (2001), Opéra Comique, Paris, France as Mistinguett
Love, Chaos and Dinner (2002-2003), Teatro ZinZanni, San Francisco, California as Madame ZinZanni
The Boy Friend, regional revival (2003), UK as Madame Dubonnet
Love, Chaos and Dinner (2007), Teatro ZinZanni, Seattle, Washington as Madame ZinZanni
A La Folie! (2008) with Michael Davis (juggler), Teatro ZinZanni, San Francisco, California
Back on the Boulevard (2009), Pizza on the Park, London, UK
Bottega ZinZanni: All Dressed Up with Some Place to Go (2009), Teatro ZinZanni, Seattle, Washington as Dina Monte
Majestic (2009) with Les Castors, Palazzo, Vienna, Austria
From Broadway With Love (2010) with Kaye Ballard & Donna McKechnie, Lensic Theater, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Tigerplast Varieté Show (2011), Tigerpalast, Frankfurt, Germany
Bonsoir Liliane! (2011), Teatro ZinZanni, Seattle, Washington
Doin' It For Love (2012) with Kaye Ballard & Lee Roy Reams, Austin, TX & Wilshire Ebell Theatre, Los Angeles, California
Broadway Babes ONE NIGHT ONLY (2014) with Kaye Ballard & Donna McKechnie, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Zazou (2014), The York Theatre, New York
Tigerplast Varieté Show (2014), Tigerpalast, Frankfurt, Germany
Paris on the Thames (2015), Brasserie Zédel, London, UK
54 Sings Grand Hotel: The 25th Anniversary Concert (2015), Feinstein's/54 Below, New York as Elizaveta Grushinskaya
An intimate evening with Liliane Montevecchi (2015), The Mansion Inn, Rock City Falls, New York
Steve Ross on Broadway (2015), Birdland Jazz Club, New York
A Classic Night: A Tribute to Liliane Montevecchi (2015), Alvin Ailey Theatre, New York
Tigerplast Varieté Show (2015), Tigerpalast, Frankfurt, Germany
Aller-Retour, musical review (2015), Vingtième Théâtre, Paris, France
Concert les Funambules (2015), Sunset/Sunside, Paris, France
Be My Valentine (2016), Feinstein's/54 Below, New York
Liliane Montevecchi Live at Zédel (2016), Brasserie Zédel, London, UK
Tigerplast Varieté Show (2016), Tigerpalast, Frankfurt, Germany
Hotel l'Amour (2016) with Frank Ferrante, Teatro ZinZanni, Seattle, Washington
Ziegfeld Follies of the Air: The New 1934 Live from Broadway Broadcast Revue (2017), Birdland Jazz Club, New York
We'll Take a Glass Together: The Songs of Wright & Forrest from MGM to Grand Hotel (2017) with Karen Akers, Ida K. Lang Recital Hall at Hunter College, New York
Francesca Capetta sings Dean Martin: A Centennial Celebration (2017), Carnegie Hall, New York
Other works
The Hollywood Palace as herself - Singer / ... (3 episodes, 1965–1966) - Episode #4.10 (1966) TV episode as herself - Singer - Episode #3.19 (1966) TV episode as herself - Singer/Dancer - Episode #2.29 (1965) TV episode as herself - Singer/Dancer
The 36th Annual Tony Awards (1982) (TV) as herself - Winner: Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
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