Mireille Darc

Mireille Darc (French: [miʁɛj daʁk]; 15 May 1938 – 28 August 2017)^[2] was a French model and actress. She appeared as a lead character in Jean-Luc Godard's 1967 film Weekend. Darc was a Knight of the Legion of Honour and Commander of the National Order of Merit. Alain Delon was her longtime co-star and companion.

Mireille Darc
Darc in 1968
Born	Mireille Christiane Gabrielle Aimée Aigroz (1938-05-15)15 May 1938 Toulon, France
Died	28 August 2017(2017-08-28) (aged 79) Paris, France
Resting place	Montparnasse Cemetery
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1960–2012
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)[1]
Spouse	Pascal Desprez ​ (m. 1996)​
Partner	Alain Delon (1968–1983)
Website	mireille-darc.com

Early years

Born Mireille Christiane Gabrielle Aimée Aigroz in Toulon,^[2] she attended the Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Toulon and moved to Paris in 1959.

Career

Darc in 2010

Darc's debuted in Claude Barma's television drama Du côté de l'enfer (aka, La Grande Brétèche, 1960). Her first leading role came in another production for French television, Jean Prat's Hauteclaire (1961). She starred in Jean-Luc Godard's film Weekend (Week-end, 1967)^[3] as Corinne, her highest profile role for international critics; as Christine in The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (Le Grand Blond avec une chaussure noire, 1972) and The Return of the Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (Le retour du grand blond, 1974) and alongside Alain Delon and Louis de Funès in several films: Pouic-Pouic (1963), High Lifers (Les Bons Vivants (1965), Jeff (1969), Borsalino (uncredited, 1970), The Love Mates (Madly, 1970), Icy Breasts (Les Seins de glace, 1974), Death of a Corrupt Man (Mort d'un pourri, 1977), Man in a Hurry (L'Homme pressé, 1977), and the television series Frank Riva [fr] (2003).

In the 1980s, Darc's career was interrupted by open-heart surgery following a car accident, in which she was seriously injured, and her separation from Alain Delon after fifteen years together. She quit her film career, but she returned to television in the 1990s. In 2006, French President Jacques Chirac awarded Darc the Legion of Honour.^[4]

Health and death

Darc's tomb in Section 11 of Montparnasse Cemetery, Paris

In 2013, Darc underwent further open heart surgery, and during 2016 she suffered several hemorrhages. She died on 28 August 2017 in Paris in a coma at the age of 79.^[5]

Theatre

Year	Play	Author	Director	Theatre
2007	Sur la route de Madison	Robert James Waller	Anne Bourgeois	Théâtre Marigny
1984	Chapitre II	Neil Simon	Pierre Mondy	Théâtre Édouard VII
1965	Pieds nus dans le parc	Neil Simon	Pierre Mondy	Théâtre de la Madeleine
1964	Photo-Finish	Peter Ustinov	Peter Ustinov	Théâtre des Ambassadeurs
1962	Les Femmes aussi ont perdu la guerre	Curzio Malaparte	Raymond Gérôme	Théâtre des Mathurins

Filmography

Feature films

Year	Title	Director	Role	Notes
1960	Les distractions	Jacques Dupont	Maïa
1961	Please, Not Now!	Roger Vadim	Marie-Jeanne
	Mourir d'amour	José Bénazéraf, Dany Fog [fr]	Mariette
	Les Nouveaux Aristocrates	Francis Rigaud	Milou Rivoire
	¿Pena de muerte?	José María Forn	Lina
1962	The Devil and the Ten Commandments	Julien Duvivier	Une amie de Mauricette	(deleted segment "L'oeuvre de chair ne désireras qu'en mariage seulement"), Uncredited
	Virginie	Jean Boyer	Brigitte
1963	People in Luck	Philippe de Broca, Jean Girault, Jack Pinoteau	Jacqueline	(segment "Le manteau de vison")
	Pouic-Pouic	Jean Girault	Patricia Monestier
1964	Monsieur	Jean-Paul Le Chanois	Suzanne
	Salad by the Roots	Georges Lautner	Rockie La Braise
	Les Durs à cuire [fr]	Jack Pinoteau	Josette
	Male Hunt	Edouard Molinaro	Georgina
	The Great Spy Chase	Georges Lautner	Amaranthe
1965	Les Bons Vivants	Gilles Grangier, Georges Lautner	Marie Cruchet known as "Eloise"	(segment "Bons vivants, Les")
1966	Galia [fr]	Georges Lautner	Galia
	The Upper Hand	Denys de La Patellière	Lili Princesse
	Balearic Caper	José María Forqué	Polly
	Ne nous fâchons pas	Georges Lautner	Eglantine Michalon
	Living It Up	Pierre Gaspard-Huit	Eva Ritter
1967	La Grande Sauterelle [fr]	Georges Lautner	Salene
	Casino Royale	John Huston	Jag	Uncredited
	The Blonde from Peking	Nicolas Gessner	Christine Olsen
	Fleur d'oseille [fr]	Georges Lautner	Catherine
	Weekend	Jean-Luc Godard	Corinne Durand
1968	Summit [fr]	Giorgio Bontempi [fr]	Annie
1969	Jeff	Jean Herman	Eva
	Monte Carlo or Bust!	Ken Annakin	Marie-Claude
1970	Elle boit pas, elle fume pas, elle drague pas, mais... elle cause !	Michel Audiard	Francine
	Borsalino	Jacques Deray	Prostitute	Uncredited
	Madly	Roger Kahane [fr]	Agatha
1971	Fantasia chez les ploucs	Gérard Pirès	Caroline
	Laisse aller... c'est une valse [fr]	Georges Lautner	Carla
1972	Il était une fois un flic [fr]	Georges Lautner	Christine
	L'Humeur vagabonde	Édouard Luntz
	Le Grand Blond avec une chaussure noire	Yves Robert	Christine
1973	Il n'y a pas de fumée sans feu	André Cayatte	Olga Leroy
	La Valise [fr]	Georges Lautner	Françoise
1974	OK patron [fr]	Claude Vital [fr]	Mélissa
	Les Seins de glace	Georges Lautner	Peggy Lister
	Borsalino & Co	Jacques Deray	prostitute in the street	Uncredited
	Dis-moi que tu m'aimes	Michel Boisrond	Victoire Danois
	Le retour du grand blond	Yves Robert	Christine
1975	Le Téléphone rose [fr]	Édouard Molinaro	Christine
1976	L'Ordinateur des pompes funèbres	Gérard Pirès	Charlotte
1977	The Passengers	Serge Leroy	Nicole
	Man in a Hurry	Édouard Molinaro	Edwige
	Mort d'un pourri	Georges Lautner	Françoise
1978	Les Ringards	Robert Pouret	Annie Garmiche
1981	Pour la peau d'un flic	Alain Delon	La Grande sauterelle	Uncredited
1982	Jamais avant le mariage	Daniel Ceccaldi	Elisabeth
1983	L'Été de nos 15 ans	Marcel Jullian	Hotel customer	Uncredited
	Si elle dit oui... je ne dis pas non	Claude Vital	Catherine
1984	Réveillon chez Bob	Édouard Molinaro	Madeleine
1986	La Vie dissolue de Gérard Floque	Georges Lautner	Jocelyne Domange

Short films

Year	Title	Director	Role
1962	Lettres de Provins	Jean Dasque	Voice only
1960	La Revenante	Jacques Poitrenaud

As director

Year	Title	Featuring
1989	La Barbare	Murray Head

French-language dubbing

Year	Title	Actress
1963	L’Ile aux Filles Perdues	Marisa Belli
1963	Foudres sur Babylone	Jose Greci
1962	L’Effroyable secret du Dr Hichcock	Barbara Steele
1961	Soliman le Magnifique	Georgia Moll
1961	Les Vikings Attaquent	Franca Bettoja
1961	Le Boucanier des Iles ( Il Giustiziere dei Mari )	Marisa Belli
1960	L'Esclave du Pharaon	Vira Silenti
1960	Les Légions de Cléopâtre	Linda Cristal
1960	Le Géant de Thessalie	Ziva Rodann
1960	Toryok la furie des Barbares	Ljubica Jovic
1958	La Charge des Cosaques	Georgia Moll

Bibliography

• 2008: Mon Père
• 2005: Tant que battra mon coeur (Autobiography)
• 1982: Jamais avant le mariage

Decorations

• Officer of the Legion of Honour (2015),^[6] (Knight in 2006)
• Commander of the National Order of Merit (2009)^[7]